Crimson Sin
by jato unit
Summary: completed . RoyEd . After a not so friendly encounter with a shadowed creature, Ed starts to go through some strange changes. He has been having these unnatural urges. The urge to drink human blood.
1. Blood Turn

Okay, I got this idea when I was like half-asleep, so yeah… I was just like 'Hey this is a good idea, might as well write it down', so here it is. This is my first FMA fanfic… no wait… scratch that. This is my first fanfic. Period. Feel free to give me any tips on how to make things better, but be nice even if the characters are OOC sometimes. Like I said, this is my first fanfic. Anyways, here we go.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, but I do own all the FMA DVDs and Manga that are currently available in the U.S.

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**Crimson Sin**

Chapter One – Blood Turn

--

The sky was a mixture of pink, blue, purple, and red. It was dinnertime and most of Central's inhabitant had retreated to the comfort of their homes for a nice hot meal. Though there were still a couple of people wandering about the streets. Yes, it was a peaceful October evening in Central. That peacefulness was about to be broken by a hot-tempered, short, blonde-haired, State Alchemist, who went by the name of Edward Elric.

"Stupid Colonel!" shouted the teen as he stomped down the street, streams of curses coming from his mouth. Whoever was still outside, made a clear path for the clearly angry teen, not wanting to find out what would happen if he were to be ticked off even more.

Edward Elric, The Full Metal Alchemist, had just returned from a mission and was required to report to Colonel Roy Mustang. Needless to say, Roy managed to slip in some 'short comments' during their conversation, which always ended in with extremely pissed off Ed.

The vertically challenged teen kicked a rock as he turned onto another street. This one was completely empty except for a couple of stray cats that Ed's younger brother Alphonse would've picked up and taken home, but Al was currently visiting their childhood friend Winry Rockbell and wouldn't return for a month at least.

Edward sighed as he thought about his younger brother. He and Al had tried to bring back their deceased mother and failed. Al had lost his entire body and was now a hollow suit of armor, while Ed lost an arm and a leg, both of which had been replaced by automail limbs. The two brothers were currently trying to find the legendary Philosopher's Stone, an alchemical amplifier that would make the process of retrieving Al's body possible.

The sky was now a deep shade of dark purple and the streetlamps had finally turned on, illuminating their surroundings. Ed looked up at the moonless sky. It was slightly chilly, but it didn't seem to affect him.

I guess I should go back. It's getting late and I'll have to face that bastard Colonel sometime.

Edward's stomach suddenly growled loudly, making him stop abruptly.

And I'm hungry… 

Turning around, the blonde alchemist looked at the long street in front of him. He blinked a couple of times.

I could've sworn that I was closer to HQ than this. It'll take forever to get back this way.

He looked around and saw an alleyway that seemed to be a shortcut. Thinking that he would get back faster if he went through the dark alley, which in retrospect wasn't such a good idea, but seemed like one at the time. So Ed began to wander down the alleyway, humming a happy tune to himself, not noticing the dark shadow that was silently trailing after him on the rooftops, red eyes gleaming in the light from the streetlamps.

After what seemed like forever to Ed, the alley finally ended, but not in the way that he would've liked. He had walked down that alleyway only to come face to face with a moldy stonewall at the end. Contemplating whether to turn around or just knock the damn wall down, Ed just stood in front of the wall, his long hair that had been tied up in a braid billowed in the night air.

Finally deciding that he would just blow the wall up, Ed clapped his hands together and prepared to commence 'Operation: Blow Up The Damn Wall That Got In My Way'. Right before Ed could blow the wall to smithereens and wake up half the town in the process, he heard a loud hissing sound behind him. He quickly turned around, only to see a dark shadow fall to the ground in front of him.

What the hell? 

"Hunnnnnngry…" The cloaked thing hissed as it moved towards Ed, extending one clawed hand towards the teen. "I… neeeeeeeed… food…" It hissed again, slightly louder this time.

Okay, this is getting kinda freaky, but I mean seriously, what the hell is going on?

"Food!" The creature cried out as it lunged at Ed, its clawed, dried up hands, barely missing Ed's head. The cloak slipped slightly, revealing two blood red eyes.

"Is it a fight that you want?" Ed said as he clapped his hands together and transmuted his automail arm into a very sharp and pointy sword, "I'm quite happy to oblige."

The creature hissed again and lunged at Ed at an alarming speed, pinning the boy to the ground. Ed could feel its hot breath on his neck as the thing lowered its head towards Ed's throat. Two sharp fangs glinted in the dim light as the shadowed being opened its mouth, as if to bite something.

"Fooooooood…" The thing hissed again as Ed began to struggle in vain. The creature was far stronger than Ed had previously thought. He continued to struggle against the creature as it licked its lips as if it saw a delicious meal in front of it.

Ed let out a cry of pain and the creature closed its mouth around Ed's neck and sunk its sharp teeth into the soft flesh of Ed's neck. He could feel his blood begin to flow out and the creature hungrily lapped it up like a dog. Pain blinded Ed as he continued to thrash about. Then an idea hit him.

_If this thing bites me, I'm going to bite him back._

Ed cracked open his eyes, only to find one of the creature's hands near his mouth. Turning his head slightly, Edward bit down hard on the creature's thumb, making it remove it mouth from Ed's neck and cry out in pain. Hearing the creature's cries of pain, Ed bit down even harder, drawing blood.

The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. Trying not to swallow any, Edward began to spit out the creature's blood, but to no avail since some still managed to find its way in his throat and down towards his stomach. The creature hissed angrily as it quickly dashed away, leaving Ed all alone in the alleyway.

A wave of nausea hit Ed, making it feel as if he had eaten rotten fruit with sour milk. He groaned as he rolled onto his side, clutching his stomach. He felt very sick and a burning sensation began to spread out throughout his body. His body felt as if it were engulfed in a fiery inferno that could melt anything. He opened his eyes, only to find that his vision was blurred and his surroundings swam about, making him even more nauseated. The last thing he saw before he slipped into unconsciousness was the cold ground of the empty alleyway.

--

So how was it? I hope it wasn't too bad and that there weren't too many grammatical errors. I'm terrible with punctuation and grammar, but I try my best. Anyways, please review!


	2. Empty Mirror

w00t! I already have four reviews! –does happy dance- Thank you all! Well, school starts tomorrow, so I may not be able to update as much as I'd like. I really don't want to go back to school. The teachers are all evil, especially the Science one that I might get. I really hope I don't get her. Well, enough with my ranting, here's the second chapter, but first some replies to all those that reviewed.

To **The Teenage Writer:** I'm glad you like it so far. Hopefully I won't ruin it later on. 

To **crazyanimefreak15: **Thanks for your kind comment. I feel all happy inside now.

To **Elric329: **Thanks and here's an update for ya.

To **Firey-Moonlight:** Wow, I can't believe I left so many unanswered questions there. Well, I'm not so sure about putting pairings in this fic because I have this feeling that I'm going to completely mess it up, but I may decide to, which means that I probably will anyways. I'm glad that Ed isn't OOC so far and that my grammar isn't too bad. I try to pick out as many errors as I can, but I sometimes miss a few.

I send out another big thank you out to all my reviewers and you all get a cookie –hands out cookies- Well, on with the story.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Full Metal Alchemist, but I do own a sock, so there! 

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**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Two – Empty Mirror

--

Ed groaned as he slowly cracked open one sleepy eye. The golden rays of the sun hit him directly in the face, making him quickly shut his eye once more. It felt as if he had been hit by a large truck and then trampled over by a herd of horses. Actually, make that two trucks and a herd of elephants. His entire body was sore and there was an annoying pounding inside his head that seemed to get worse whenever he opened his eyes. He rolled over so that his back was facing the sun and opened his eyes once more. Even with the sun's merciless glare behind him, Edward had to squint because it was so bright.

What happened last night? And how the hell did I end up here? Oh yeah, that creepy shadow thing bit me and I guess I bit him back. Heh. Serves the bastard right for biting me.

The young State Alchemist then sat up and touched the spot where the creature had bitten him the night before, only to find a thick layer of dried blood covering the wound. He could barely feel to large punctures beneath all the dried blood. Ed grimaced when he removed his hand and saw that some of the dried blood had come off and now clung to his white glove.

Better go wash all this off before someone finds me here… 

He then got up and turned around, covering the wound and blood with one of his hands while using the other to shield his eyes from the sun's rays. Squinting, Edward began to walk down towards the now busy streets.

Cars rushed by and people crowded the sidewalks, but none of them seemed to be affected by the sun in the same was as Ed. All the noises seemed to be louder as well. The footsteps made by all the people rang like thunder throughout his ears and the smells all around him were stronger as well, making his headache even worse. Edward quickly maneuvered through the crowd and continued on his way towards the Military Headquarters in Central at a jog.

--

It took Edward far less time than he expected to reach his destination and he had barely broken a sweat. Thinking that he had only gotten stronger during all those missions the Colonel sent him on, Edwards quietly slipped through the large iron gates and towards the dorms, being careful that no one saw him.

When he was directly under the open window that he thought led to the room he usually occupied with Al, Ed jumped up and grabbed hold of the small window ledge and hoisted himself into the room.

Edward immediately felt his cheeks heat up when he saw Jean Havoc in a lip-lock with none other than Cain Fury. "Sorry!" he squeaked and quickly jumped out the window.

"What's with him?" Havoc said when he saw Ed sprinting away as fast as he could, which was actually really fast. "Pretty fast for a shrimp though," he said when he blinked and Ed had already disappeared.

--

"Okay, they're not running after me, so that's a good sign, but god dammit Havoc! Now I owe Breda twenty bucks," Ed grumbled to himself as he peered out from behind a tree. "Better go find my dorm room and fast!" He then quickly ran towards the other side of the building and looked for the right room.

During his quest to find his room, Ed managed to find himself in one of the female officers' room. The way he could tell that it belonged to a woman? Bras and underwear that definitely didn't belong to one of the males littered the floor. Edward quickly left that room, thinking that one Colonel in particular, meaning Roy, would've enjoyed that greatly. It took him about half an hour to finally find his own room.

_Maybe next time I should leave a sign outside that says Ed's room. Wait, then all those psycho killers could easily find me, so maybe it's not such a good idea,_ Ed thought as he flung himself onto his bed. _Hold on a second. I was going to go wash all this blood off and the bathroom is on the other end of the hallway…_

A loud 'dammit' rang throughout the building as Ed kicked open the door to his room and stormed down the hallway towards the bathroom, making almost everyone within earshot, which meant the entire building, look up from what they were doing.

This day had gone from bad to worse rather quickly for Edward Elric. Waking up in a deserted alleyway wasn't the best start for a day and then walking in on two men kissing, wandering around looking for his room for half an hour, and then having to walk all the way towards the bathroom, which was on the other side of the building, weren't the best follow-ups. Though that trip into the female officer's room hadn't been all that bad.

Ed turned on the shower; not even bothering to take his clothes off, the blond-haired boy let the warm water drench him, washing all the dried blood off in the process. He stood in the shower for a good fifteen minutes before he turned the water off and got out, making puddles of water on the floor. Ed was about to go grab a towel from the rack when he caught sight of his reflection in the fogged up mirror. Thinking that it was only the fog, Ed walked up to the large mirror and wiped away some of the fog. Edward gasped at what he saw in the mirror.

"Wh-wh-where is my reflection?" Edward said to himself as he stared into the empty mirror. The glace showed no signs that he was even standing there. "What is happening to me?"

--

Okay, chapter two is finished! Oh and just so you know, Ed can walk around in the sunlight, well for now anyways. It's just really bright and gives him a headache, so he doesn't like it. Anyways, Ed has realized that something is wrong with him and about that FuryxHavoc thing, I just couldn't resist as they are my favorite pairing after all, but you won't be seeing much more of that though. I'm thinking about adding some pairings after all; so just tell what you'd like to see. I'm leaning towards RoyxEd actually, but I'm not sure. Roy will come in soon, so just be patient with me. Oh and don't forget to review!


	3. Blood Lust

Bah! School has started and I got the evil Science teacher, but I may be able to switch out of her class! Yay! I also got this thing on my braces that makes my mouth hurt like hell. Bah. Well, time to reply to my reviewers!

To** The Teenage Writer: **I'd probably scream like a little girl if I saw that my reflection wasn't there, but then I'd be like 'Sweet!' Thanks for the review; you get a Havoc plushie and a Fury plushie-hands over plushies-

To **crazyanimefreak15: **I hope that 'O.O' was a good thing xD You get a Black Hayate Plushie –hands over plushie-

To **Elric329: **I'm glad that you think so. Here's a Roy Plushie –hands over plushie-

Wow, it's already Chapter 3.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, so there!

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter 3 – Blood Lust

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"Shit-shit-shit-shit!" Edward cursed as he paced around his room. He had changed in a dry pair of clothes and was currently thinking about what he had just seen. Someone didn't usually take a look in a mirror and find out that they no longer had a reflection. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if someone else found out. Maybe he should tell Al, but he decided not to worry his younger brother while he was taking a nice vacation out in Rizenbool.

A loud knock at the door snapped Edward out of his thoughts and cursing. "Yes?" he said as he opened the door to find 1st Lieutenant Hawkeye standing there.

"Edward, Roy would like to see you in his office," she said, trying to pretend that she hadn't heard Ed's string of curse words.

"Now?" Ed asked. _God dammit, of all the times, Roy had to chose this one!_

"Yes," Riza said simply and walked away, Edward following alongside her. They were soon standing in front of Roy's office. Ed reluctantly turned the brass doorknob and entered the room.

--

Roy was sitting at his desk, admiring himself in a small pink pocket mirror that probably belonged to Hawkeye. "Ah! Fullmetal, perfect timing!" he said as he lowered the mirror to see Edward.

"What do you want now bastard Colonel," Edward said, clearly unhappy to be in the same room as Roy.

"Now now, Fullmetal, don't lose your temper just yet, however _short_ it may be," the Colonel said, saying the 'short' in the sentence louder than the rest of the words.

"WHO YOU CALLING A BRINE SHRIMP EGG SO SMALL THAT YOU CAN'T SEE HIM WITH A MICROSCOPE!" a very pissed off Edward yelled, while Roy just put on a smug smile, obviously enjoying the torment he was putting the shrimp-boy through.

"I never said that Edward. It seems your attention span is as _short_ as your height," Roy said as he examined his fingernails, preparing himself for another of Edward's angry rants.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A ULTRA HYPER SUPER CHIBI SHRIMP!" Edward yelled again, making Roy's smug smile become even larger.

"Well, enough of that," Roy began as his face became serious, "It has been brought to my attention that you didn't return to the dorms last night and weren't seen till late this morning. My question is, what were you doing last night that was so important that you couldn't return to the dorms?"

"What do you think? I was out trying to get away from you as far as possible," Edward replied, which was true, but not the entire truth.

"So you stayed out for fifteen hours, just to stay away from me? You do realize that I do go homebefore eight o'clock," Roy said; it was obvious that he didn't believe Edward.

"Hey, you can never be sure. I've heard you snoring away in you office at ten o'clock and then I still hear you at ten o'clock the next morning," Ed said as he crossed his arms. _Oh top that bastard Colonel!_

"Er… Well, that's beside the point! I want to know what you were doing all of last night!" Roy said, slightly irritated.

"Fine, if you must know. I ran into something while I was walking down an alley and got knocked out. Happy now?" Edward said. Well, it was the truth.

Roy covered his mouth with one hand, trying to cover up his laughter. "And what the hell is so funny?" Edward asked. Roy could piss the Full Metal Alchemist off so much in so little time.

"Nothing," Roy said as he picked up the pocket mirror once more and turned around in his chair, motioning for Ed to leave. Ed then angrily stomped out of the room, cursing Roy under his breath.

A surprised look appeared on Roy's face when he saw the door opening in his mirror, but no Edward standing there. "What the?" he muttered and shook his head. The door slammed and Roy was left to think about what he had just seen. "Must've been a trick of the light," Roy said to himself and began to admire himself in the pink pocket mirror once more.

--

Edward spent the rest of the day wandering about Central, completely bored out of his mind. He only returned to Headquarters for lunch, where he saw Havoc and Fury. Still remembering the incident that happened that morning, Ed tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. His height sure came in handy there.

It was now dinnertime again and Edward was feeling more alive then ever. He felt as if he had just eaten forty large packs of sugar and then a mountain of sugar cookies. The young alchemist made quick work of his dinner, which consisted of a large bowl of soup and a glass of milk. The milk remained forever untouched. No one knew why Edward hated milk, but he just did. Edward had finished dinner in about fifteen minutes and then started to wander about again.

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. It was soon almost midnight and Ed was still full of energy, while everyone was fast asleep. He couldn't even believe that it was already that late since he could still see perfectly fine. Even though he wasn't tired, Edward went back to his room and tried to fall asleep.

Edward had been tossing and turning around in his bed for almost an hour before he finally fell into a deep sleep. A pained expression crossed his face as a dream began to play out in his mind.

--

"_Where am I?" Edward said to himself when he found himself sitting in the middle of a vast field. Poppies and other bright colored flowers covered the ground and the sun shone brightly above in the clear blue sky. A bird chirped off in the distance and Ed turned his head in the direction of the chirp. He saw a large old oak tree, a cloaked figure sitting in the tree's shade, a bluebird chirping happily on his finger._

"_Ah, Edward Elric," the person began as they turned their head in Ed's direction, "I've been expecting you. Come sit beside me."_

_Not knowing whether to trust this person or not, Edward got up uncertainly and took a small step forwards. _

_The figure saw Edward's discomfort and said, "I won't hurt you." _

_Still a bit uneasy about the cloaked person, Edward cautiously walked over to the tree and sat down. "Who are you? And what are you doing?" Edward asked as he tried to get a better look at the cloaked person._

"_I will not tell you my true name, but you may call me Raith for now," he said, "As for what I'm doing. I'm currently sitting under this tree listening to this bird sing."_

"_Is this a dream?" Edward asked. This entire place seemed too perfect to be real._

"_That depends. Do you want it to be a dream?" Raith asked._

"_I don't know," Ed said softly as he looked out across the field, wondering how far it went on._

"_You don't have a reflection," Raith said suddenly, making Ed jump slightly in surprise._

"_Excuse me?" Ed said, clearly surprised by Raith's comment. He had no clue why someone in a dream would bring that up._

"_You have no reflection," the cloaked figure said once more and then continued on before Ed had a chance to respond, "You are not human."_

"_What?" Ed asked as he quickly got up. How could he not be human?_

"_You are slowly falling into the darkness, soon no one will be able to save you. You'll be cast out of the human world and forced to live in the shadows; you'll become the shadows!" Raith said, his voice becoming more sinister every passing moment._

_The sky turned a dark shade of crimson and the lush valley around him began to whither and die. Even the old oak tree became a gnarled and burnt. Fires sprung up, filling the air with steam. The small bluebird gave out one last hoarse croak and burst into flames._

"_You're one of us now! You can't escape your fate! Even now you're loosing your humanity! You're falling into the darkness! Your friends will turn against you once they find out what you are!" Raith said, his voice echoing in Ed's mind. _

_A strong wind picked up, throwing Ed into the air. The blond boy let out a cry as the wind pushed him over the edge of the seemingly endless field and he tumbled into oblivion._

--

"Ah!" Ed cried out as he shot up in his bed. His body was covered in sweat and his breath came in quick gasps. "It was only a dream. Just a dream," he muttered to himself as he got out of bed and walked over to his window. A small sliver of moon hung in the sky, barely illuminating the night, but to Ed, it was as if there was a full moon and dozens of street lamps.

He sighed and buried his face in his hands. Maybe he had imagined that he had no reflection. There was nothing wrong with him. He was a human, not something else. He decided to go back to the mirror and look again.

The young alchemist quietly slipped out of his room and crept down the corridor, his automail leg making clanking noises every time he took a step, though they weren't as loud as they could've been. _Stupid leg._

After what seemed like an eternity, Edward Elric reached the bathroom and carefully slipped inside. Flicking on the light switch, Edward closed his eyes and stood in front of the mirror once more.

_My reflection will be there when I open my eyes. My reflection will be there when I open my eyes. My reflection will be there!_

Edward snapped open his eyes and gazed into the glace. The mirror was still empty. He closed his eyes again and got the same result when he opened them once more. He continued to try this for half an hour.

"No! No! No!" Ed said as he slumped to the floor, "My reflection is there! My reflection is there!"

He then felt a strange feeling inside of him. His skin prickled slightly and there was this strange urge to eat something. He wanted to eat something that he couldn't find in any supermarket, to eat something unnatural. His stomach lurched and he became dizzy. There was a pounding in his head and the room was spinning around him. The last thing he remembered was falling to the floor and the bathroom fading into darkness.

--

_Where am I?_ was Ed's first though when he opened his eyes. He was in a dark room that seemed to be a bedroom. There was one window and it was open, the curtains billowing slightly. _How'd I get here?_

This bedroom was definitely not one of the dorm bedrooms. It seemed to belong to a young child. Ed looked down at the small bed he was standing next to. In the dim light he could make out the outline of a small child, probably seven or six years old. He could also see that there was a dark puddle surrounding the boy's lifeless body, staining the white sheets.

_Why is he bleeding?_

Ed then tasted a metallic taste in his mouth. It tasted just like blood. He felt something wet trickle down the side of his mouth. Using his hand, Ed wiped it off. The teen then looked at his hands. They were both stained with blood and he could see that what he just wiped off was blood as well.

_I-I-I did this? I k-killed him?_

Ed's hands began to shake and he took a couple of shaky steps back, crashing into what seemed to be a box filled with toys. The box fell over, making a loud crashing sound. He then heard a woman's voice call out what seemed to be the small boy's name and then the sounds of two pairs of footsteps.

_I can't let them find me!_

Ed quickly darted towards the window, which just happened to be on the third story, and jumped out. He landed on the ground in a crouching position and quickly took off as he heard a woman scream and an angry yell, which probably belonged to the father.

_Oh god! Oh god! I'm a monster! I killed a child! I drank his blood! I'm a murderer!_

Edward ran down the street towards his dorm room. He could see the lights from other buildings turn on out of the corner of his eye as he ran past.

If you looked closely at the roof of one of the houses you could barely see two figures standing there, a woman and a man. Both were dressed in long sleeved skintight black clothes and wore a dark cloak. The woman had long purple hair that went down to her lower back and it billowed slightly in the wind. The man had white hair even though he was rather young, probably only twenty-two. The woman appeared to be around eighteen.

"So the boy has finally realized that he's a monster?" said the woman

"It seems so," said the male, "I just never expected him to have to drink blood this soon."

"Neither did I," the female said again, "Though it seems that we have a very special vampire on our hands."

"So it seems," said the male as his lips pulled back into a devilish grin, revealing two pointed fangs.

"I guess we'll have our hands full with this kid. Right, Raith?" she said as she cuddled against his muscular chest.

"Yes, my dear Lilith," he said and pulled her closer, making her close her eyes and smile as well, revealing her fangs as well.

"Well, at least until he's been fully turned, but that will happen sooner than he knows," she said as Ed disappeared from view.

--

Wow, it's done! This chapter took a long time. It's like six pages on Word with type 10 xD Well, Roy came in and Ed's realized that there is something wrong with him. There are also those two vampires at the end and one has the same name as the guy in Edward's dream. What do they have in store for Ed? And is there a connection between the dream Raith and the real one?I'm not gonna tell you, so too bad. You'll find out in due time though. Anyways, Ed may have gone a bit OOC here and maybe Roy a bit with his pink pocket mirror (( Sorry I couldn't help myself )), so sorry 'bout that. I'm pretty sure that this will become an EdxRoy fic, but it isn't completely set in stone yet. Don't forget to review!


	4. Predator and Prey

Woah, I got a lot of reviews on that last chapter. Thank you all so much! So yeah, we're already at chapter 4. That went by pretty fast. Oh and sorry to those of you that don't like yaoi, but this is now officially an EdxRoy fic. Well, time to reply to all my reviewers!

To **The Teenage Writer:** Yeah, Ed killed someone, but it was bound to happen sometime. I mean come on, what story doesn't have some death in it xD Don't worry, I laugh too when I read parts when someone dies.

To **crazyanimefreak15:** Wha! You don't like milk? I seriously live off the stuff.

To** Safferon: **Yep, Edo is a vampire and a cute one at that!

To** Dreams of Magic:** Yay! One more person who loves HavocxFury pairing! And as for what's up with Lilith and Raith, I'm not gonna tell ya! Nyah!

To** psycofullmetalfan: **Sorry that you don't like yaoi, but thanks for saying that you'll read it anyways. I love vampires too 'cause they kick ass. Myep!

To **Elric329:** I'm glad you liked the chapter. You're right; Ed must feel terrible, killing someone and all. Thanks for the review!

To **HagarenFanGirl:** Yes, poor Ed, but he'll survive. After all, I can't kill off one of my favorite characters now can I? Plus, that would make the story short XB

To **A: **I'm glad that you think so and I'll try to update as much as I can.

To** AnimeDarkRain:** Vampire Ed is smexy XDD

To** twistedtitle:** Really? You think I've written an original fic? Thank you! I live for originality!

Okay, thanks again to all my reviewers! I luff you all! Here's chapter 4!

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Full Metal Alchemist, 'cause if I did, would I really be writing this here?

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Four – Predator and Prey

--

Ed nibbled at the end of his sandwich. He wasn't hungry, not after what had happened the night before. The metallic taste of the boy's blood still lingered in his mouth; he couldn't get rid of it! His golden hair wasn't up in its usual braid; instead it hung limply as Ed continued to nibble off crumbs of bread. Dark bags hung under his eyes and his skin had become sickly and pale. Ed looked like a mess nobody could deny that. He didn't even look up from his food when Havoc told him that Roy wanted to see him. The teen just nodded, got up, and left.

His footsteps echoed down the hall as he headed towards Roy's office for the second time in two days. Golden eyes focused solely on the ground, Edward rounded a corner and ran smack dab into Hawkeye, making him tumble to the ground. "Sorry," he mumbled as he sat on the ground.

"It's alright, but please try to watch where you're going," she said as she helped him up, letting her catch a glimpse of two puncture marks on Ed's neck. "Where'd you get that wound?" she asked Ed as he began to walk away. Ed stopped for a second and then broke into a run. _Why'd he run away from me? _She thought to herself as she continued on her way as well.

--

"Come in," Roy called out from behind his desk, his eyes staring at the front page of the newspaper, a frown on his face. The door to his office then opened and Edward stepped in, closing the door behind him. "Ah! Fullmetal, come here," Roy said and motioned for Edward to come closer, his eyes still focused on the newspaper.

"You wanted to see me?" Ed said as he stopped in front of Roy's desk.

The Colonel nodded and showed him the front page of the newspaper. "What do you make of this?" he asked, "Another deranged serial killer, or something else?"

Ed gasped slightly when he saw the headline. "Six bodies found drained of their blood," he read out to himself. _Did I kill more than one? This can't be… I'm not a murderer…_ he thought to himself, but a nasty little voice told him otherwise.

_Yes you are! You killed all those innocent people! You're a murderer! A monster!_

_No I'm not! I'm not a murderer… I'm not a murderer! I'M NOT A MURDERER!_

_Yes you are! Bodies drained of their blood! You killed them and drank their blood!_

"I'M NOT A MURDERER!" Ed cried out, "Stop it! Just… Stop it…" He could feel tears begin to trickle down his face.

"I never said that you were," Roy said as he handed the blond boy a handkerchief. He paused a moment as the teen wiped the tears away and then said, "Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," Ed said and smiled a fake smile as he proceeded to leave the room, showing Roy two sharp fangs.

"Fullmetal," Roy said, making Ed stop, "You really do look like a woman with your hair down." Roy was rather surprised when Ed didn't shout one of his vulgar comebacks back at him and just left the room without a word.

_Something is wrong with him and why did he shout out that he wasn't a murderer? Does he know something about these murders that occurred last night that he doesn't want to tell me? And when did he get fangs? Something's not right here…_ Roy thought as he focused his attention back on the newspaper.

--

Ed sighed as he stared at the late afternoon sun. He was sitting in a large tree that had already lost its leaves, keeping his eyes closed due to his newfound sensitivity to light. His golden hair fell into his face, but it didn't matter to him. It was nice and quiet in the tree. No one could bother him here. He yawned and found himself slipping into unconsciousness again. Not even bothering to stay awake, the blond alchemist fell asleep.

--

_Oh great, another one of these creepy dreams, Ed thought as he found himself staring out across a large sparkling lake. A dense green forest surrounded him and the lake, towering above everything else. The sky was filled with stars and a couple of shooting stars flew by. Only a few wispy clouds littered the night sky and Ed could hear some crickets chirping nearby._

"_So you finally came," said a voice that Ed knew all too well._

"_Raith…" he muttered as he turned his head to face him. A dark cloak once again obscured Raith's face and body. "What do you want," Edward hissed, baring his fangs slightly._

_Raith chuckled slightly and said, "You're becoming more and more like us with every passing second. So, how was your first taste of human blood? You liked it, so don't deny it."_

_Edward turned away in disgust. "You're a monster," he said. Raith responded by letting out a sinister laugh._

"_You really think I'm more of a monster than you? You killed six innocent people last night! I'd say you're the monster here, but it's only natural that you go after humans. They are, after all, a source of food, but I'd have thought that you had more control over yourself than that."_

"_Humans aren't a source of food! And I didn't kill them!" Ed blurted out, shaking with rage._

"_Oh, then who killed Cody, Tom, Sam, Selene, Catherine, and Rina? Answer that Fullmetal Killer? You're no longer a human, so stop deluding yourself and accept what you are!" Raith said as he dug his nails into the sand that he was sitting on._

"_Then tell me! What am I if I'm not human!" Ed cried out, wanting to beat the living snot out of Raith._

"_You'll find out in due time my little half-blood. Just wait a little bit longer for your blood to completely turn and then you'll kill a lot more than six little children. You'll be alone for the rest of your life. No human would ever trust or love you! So just give up on trying to convince yourself that you're human! You're not and you'll never be again!" he said angrily as he got up._

"_I am human and I'm not a monster! Don't call me a monster! I didn't kill them! I didn't drink their blood!" Ed yelled as he swung his fist at Raith, who easily dodged it._

"_Too slow my little half-blood," he sneered and grabbed Ed's arm, "You did kill all of them and drink their blood! Don't deny it! You know you did! Do you have a reflection? No! The mirror is as empty as if you weren't standing there! You aren't human! The sun is your enemy! You survive on the blood of humans! You're stronger and faster than them! You could easily kill any of them! You're just a soulless monster! A killer!"_

"_Shut up! I'm not a killer you fucking bastard! Now shut the hell up!" Edward cried out as he swung at Raith with his other arm._

"_Until next time my dear little half-blood. Don't die out on me before then for stupid reasons that you think are noble. Remember, you're the predator and the humans are the prey. Don't forget that," he whispered it Ed's ear and caught his other arm._

_Everything then faded into darkness and Ed was falling once more into the same black oblivion, Raith's laughter echoing in his ears._

--

Ed woke up with a start. The sky was completely dark and everything was silent. He let out a long sigh and wiped some sweat off of his forehead. "It was only a dream," he whispered to himself and closed his eyes again.

He suddenly felt the same feeling he had felt the night before when he had passed out in the bathroom. His skin prickled and the wound on the side of his neck burned, making Ed wince. His stomach lurched again and he became dizzy.

_NO! I won't kill anyone else! I won't let it happen!_

Ed shut his eyes and soon the feeling passed after what seemed like an eternity. He relaxed and opened his eyes and stared up at the night sky again. It was late and he knew that he should've gone back to the dorms, but it was nice out and he didn't want to waste being able to see without getting a headache. He closed his eyes again and began to hum to himself.

--

"It seems that we clearly underestimated his abilities to keep his hunger under control," Lilith said as she stared down at Edward from her perch on a nearby rooftop.

"So it seems," Raith said as he rubbed his temples. He had a terrible headache and he felt nauseated.

"I think it's time we go out for a little snack, after all, we haven't had a good meal in days," she said as she grinned evilly, her fangs glinting in the light from one of the many streetlamps.

"Yes, I that's a very good idea, but lets not get carried away," he said, grinning, as they both darted off into the night, searching for their meal.

--

Okay, I know it's short, so please don't kill me. I promise to write some nice long chapters during the weekend, though they may turn out a bit dark o.o; School's been a pain in the ass, so yeah. I'm still trying to switch science classes, but I'm not sure if it's going to work. Anyways, don't forget to review!


	5. Cast Into Darkness

Okay, I want to thank all the people who reviewed. I'm glad that you all have been sending me kind comments. It's now the weekend, so I'll try to write longer chapters, or add two at a time. I hate school so far. They've completely messed up my schedule and made it so that I have all the mean teachers. Plus the head of the Math department thingy said I was an idiot. Oh! Do you see these A's? Oh, kiss that! Well, that's enough ranting from me. Time to reply to all my reviewers!

To **Firey-Moonlight:** I'm glad that you like the pairing and that you think my story is really good. As for your questions, you'll find out about one very soon, and the other shortly after that, or maybe both at the same time! I can't tell you exactly.

To** The Teenage Writer:** You want to bite someone? Now you're making me want to! Oh yeah, you gotta love the fangs. I used to have fang-like teeth, but my braces made them look normal. They're still sharp though –bites pillow- Snarf!

To **crazyanimefreak15:** Yeah, my school starts early and we get out late, but we have lots of breaks in between, so it all works out in the end. I'm glad you loved the chapter and thought it was creepy, 'cause it was supposed to be.

To** nadisrad:** Thanks, I'm happy that you think so. You've added me to your favorites? Aw, thanks so much. Here, have a cookie –hands over cookie-

To **Jen:** Yep, things are getting really dark, and it's only going to get darker. Glad you also like RoyxEd. I can't answer your questions just now because then I'll give stuff away, so I'm not gonna answer them now. Meh, I'm evil like that xP

To **psychofullmetalfan:** I try to update as fast as I can. I might slow down a bit though. Yep, Ed killed some kids, but it's not exactly his fault. We still love him even if he's a killer xD

Thanks again to all my wonderful reviewers. Keep on reviewing! And free vampire Ed plushies for everyone! –tosses them out to reviewers-

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Full Metal Alchemist, but I do have a ball of lint and it's mine, so go away! Oh ya, forgot to say this last time. Raith and Lilith belong to me, so they're mine and will protect me from lawyers that wish to sue me.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Five – Cast Into Darkness

--

Ed awoke the next morning with a terrible headache that just wouldn't seem to let up. He couldn't open his eyes without sending a blast of pain through his head, so he kept them closed and tried to find his way around. Needless to say, he bumped into a lot of things on his way to breakfast.

Breakfast was rather uneventful. Ed wasn't hungry and felt slightly sick and light-headed. He was tired and his strength was starting to ebb away. Ed sighed as he prodded his omelet. The teen had only eaten two small bites of his omelet when Hawkeye told him that Roy wanted to see him again. She said that it was very important. Ed could've sworn that she was trying to get another look at his neck, as she was leaning slightly to one side, her eyes trailing down to where the two puncture marks were.

_What does he want now?_ Ed thought unhappily as he slowly walked towards Roy's office again. He could open his eyes slightly and he didn't feel as light-headed as he did during breakfast, but he was still quite nauseous.

He suddenly found himself standing in front of the all too familiar door that led to Roy's office. Not bothering to knock on the door, Ed opened the door and stepped inside. "What do you want now?" he said as he walked up to Roy who was once again staring down at the paper, a serious expression on his face.

"Two more," the Colonel muttered, his eyes still fixed upon the newspaper. Edward stared at him quizzically. "Two more bodies drained of their blood were found this morning. A four year old boy and his ten year old sister," Roy said as he looked into Ed's shocked golden eyes.

_Did I do this? I thought I could control it! I remember falling asleep in that tree last night and waking up the same way I had been before I fell asleep. I must've lost control! I'm a monster! I killed two more! Will I ever be able to control it? Or will I keep on killing as long as I live? I need to know!_

"Do you know anything about these murders Fullmetal?" Roy asked, waiting for Ed to give him an answer.

There was a long moment of silence before Ed replied with a simple, 'No'. He then turned around and left the room, leaving Roy alone to ponder the situation.

_He's hiding something from me and he's going to tell me what he knows,_ Roy Mustang thought as he stared back down at the newspaper. Directly in the middle of the page was a large photo of two bodies, both lying in a giant pool of blood. There was one distinct similarity though; both had two puncture marks on the side of their necks.

--

"No! No! No!" Ed cried out in frustration as he flung another book aside. He was determined on finding out what had happened to him and had been searching the library for answers.

Suddenly an old leather bound book caught his eye. The book was a deep forest green with golden trims. The cover was beginning to fade, making it obvious that it was an old book. There was no title, but Ed flipped through a couple of the old yellowing pages before one passage caught his eye.

… _They nocturnal creatures that survive by drinking the blood of humans. Each one harbors a deep fear and hatred of the sun, which is said to blind them and render them helpless. Vampires are solitary and don't usually intermingle with each other unless it is necessary. They do not mate, as they can't have children. Humans are turned into vampires by having one drink their blood and then drinking the blood of the same vampire. This must be done during the night of the full moon; otherwise the former human becomes a half-vampire, who will slowly change into a full one. A half-vampire is less powerful, not as quick, and has less enhanced senses, but they are still superior to a human's. Half-vampires need to drink blood less and are usually hit with sudden pangs of nausea and have constant dizzy spells when the hunger is upon them. Vampires on the other hand need to feed every other night to stay alive, though there are exceptions to both. If a vampire of half-vampire doesn't feed when he or she needs to then they will become weaker and weaker until they die. They both draw blood from the neck and usually don't kill the person they feed from unless they loose control. Half-vampires will remain a half-blood until the next full moon and then their vampiric blood will take over, transforming them into a full-vampire. Half-vampires are less sensitive to the sun, but will still get headaches quite often and are more susceptible to sunburns. Vampires usually age one year for every twenty that past, while half-vampires age one every ten. If a vampire wishes to revert back, then he or she must…_

"He or she must what?" Ed said to himself as he looked at the next page, but found nothing but a blank page. It was as if someone erased it completely. "I need to find out how to turn back into a human. No matter what the cost," he said to himself as he closed the book and left the library.

--

It was once again past midnight and Ed had slipped into another one of his dreams. He had been hit by another wave of hunger earlier, but he had managed to subdue it. His face was peaceful as he slept, his mind watching another dream unfold.

--

"_So you've come back once more?" Raith said from his perch. It seemed that Ed was now in the middle of a desert. The sky was clear once more and the ground was barren as far as Ed could see._

"_What do you want from me this time?" Ed asked angrily as he turned to face Raith._

"_Now, now, my little half-blood chibi, don't be rude to your elders," he said as he wrapped himself in his cloak even more. "I'm here to see how you're doing. It seems that you've finally figured out what you are."_

"_I have and I sure as hell ain't going to stay this way," Ed snarled as he tried to restrain himself from lunging at Raith._

"_You do realize that you're going to kill a lot of people as long as you're alive? You're a danger to society! Everyone will be better off without you?" Raith said, smirking._

"_Cut the crap! I'm going to become human again!" Ed said as he lunged at Raith, who easily dodged him once again._

"_Tsk! Tsk! My little vampire chibi! You shouldn't try and hurt your elders, besides what proof have you that you can save yourself and everyone around you by changing back into a human? You'll end up hurting someone you love. Maybe even that Colonel of yours! What would you do if you hurt him? What would he do when he finds out what you are? Your fate is sealed chibi-chan! Humanity has forsaken you and the Darkness welcomes you with open arms! You're a creature of the night!" he sneered and hit Ed square in the jaw with his fist. "I'm going to let you dream peacefully again. Don't forget me chibi-chan!"_

_Everything then faded away and Ed slipped into blissful dreamless sleep._

--

"The boy really thinks he can still return to humanity? He is a fool to even try," Lilith said to Raith as they both stood on a tree outside Ed's window.

"It's impossible, so he'll fail in the end. It's inevitable, "Raith said and ran a hand through his hair.

"Lets let him delude himself a little while longer," she said and smirked. While Ed slept peacefully, unaware of what to two vampires were saying.

--

I know, I promised a long chapter and I will I promise! Anyways, don't forget to review!


	6. Dizzy Spells

Meh, I'm like hyper on sugar or something. I swear, lemonade seriously makes you hyper. Anyways, it's time for another chapter and I'll try to make this one a bit longer. Before the chapter begins, I have some reviews to answer.

To **Kari Williams:** I try to update as often as I can, but I'll probably get lazy later on xP I'm glad that you like my fanfic so much.

To **HagarenFanGirl:** Sorry, but Ed put his hair up again. Though it will come down again later on xD He's just so uber smexy with his hair like that.

To **psychofullmetalfan:** Meh, can't really tell you whether he does change back or not. You'll have to wait and find out. Gosh, I'm being really evil right now.

To** Schimmy:** Vampire Ed is sexy! His sexy-ness owns us all! Bow before the smexy vampire that is Ed! –bows-

To **hittocerebattosai: **Yes, poor Ed, but it's only going to keep going downhill for him.

To **nadisrad:** You want human Ed back? Come on, Vampire Ed is so smexy. You gotta love him xD

Thank you all my reviewers! Reviews are like the fuel for this fanfic, and they make me happy! Anyways, on with the chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Full Metal Alchemist, but I own Raith and Lilith. They are both my slaves and are currently baking me cookies.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Six – Dizzy Spells

--

Ed woke up the next morning feeling even more nauseous than he had anytime before. It felt as if he would throw up at any moment. His stomach was doing flip-flops and his head ached. He let out a groan and rolled over in his bed, clutching his stomach. Ed shut his eyes and let out another pitiful groan. He felt very weak. It felt like he would pass out at any moment, though he didn't understand why. He had slept a full nine hours each night, yet he was still tired.

A loud knock at the door, made Edward quickly cover his ears. That knock sounded like a gunshot to him and made the dull aching in his head flare up into a terrible headache. Still covering his ears, Ed slowly got out of bed and shuffled over to the door. He opened his eyes, glad that he had blinds that could block out most of the sunlight, which gave his room a rather cave-like feel.

"Yes?" Ed said as he opened the door and found Hawkeye standing there, a thick stack of papers in her hand.

Her cheeks became slightly pink when she saw Ed standing there in his boxers. She tried to ignore it and handed Ed the papers. "The Colonel asked me to give these reports to you. He wants you to read all of them and then report back to him."

"What are these reports of?" Ed asked as he took the papers and began to flip through them.

"They are the accounts of the people that witnessed the murders that have been occurring and some information on the victims. Hopefully you can find some links, if there are any, between these murders. Good luck," she said and walked off, leaving Ed alone.

He shut the door and deposited the papers on his bed. Walking over to the window, Ed pulled back the thick blinds and tried to get a good look at the outside. The sunlight blinded him and his headache got worse, but he didn't close the blinds. Outside the gates he could see happy people, children playing tag with each other, while their parents browsed some shops nearby.

_I could kill anyone of these people next time I lose control. No! I won't let that happen! I won't ever drink human blood again! I don't care if I die. These people shouldn't have to suffer for me._

Ed turned away from the window and got dressed. Only then did he realize that Hawkeye had seen him in his boxers. His face turned bright red and he quickly tried to take his mind off of that memory by brushing his hair. Too tired to braid his hair, Ed just put it up in a ponytail. He sighed and went off to eat breakfast, taking the papers that Hawkeye had just given him as well.

--

Ed sat alone in the large cafeteria where most of the military personnel usually ate. It was past breakfast and it wasn't going to be lunchtime for another two hours. The teen's eyes were focused on the paper and he nibbled slightly at the jelly sandwich he was holding in one hand. He stiffened when he read off the names that were all too familiar.

_**Sam Thompson**_

_Age: 6_

_Cause of Death: Large gashes across chest, resulting in excessive blood loss. Body found drained of blood._

_**Cody Hamilton**_

_Age: 4_

_Cause of Death: Strangled. Body found drained of blood._

_**Tom Rashton**_

_Age: 7_

_Cause of Death: Throat slit open. Body found drained of blood._

_**Selene Herry**_

_Age: 11_

_Cause of Death: Hard blow to the head. Body found drained of blood._

_**Catherine Winch**_

_Age: 8_

_Cause of Death: Stabbed through the heart. Body found drained of blood._

_**Rina Olim**_

_Age: 12_

_Cause of Death: Excessive blood loss, though there was sign of injury. Body found drained of blood._

"They all died because of me," Ed muttered to himself as he turned the page once more only to find two more people that died as well, an adult and a teenager.

_**Isabelle Trent**_

_Age: 22_

_Cause of Death: Strangled. Body found drained of blood._

_**Danny Greenald**_

_Age: 16_

_Cause of Death: Large fall. Body found drained of blood._

"Did I kill them too?" Edward asked himself as he picked up all the papers, shaking slightly. "I'm a monster," he muttered as he picked up the papers and his sandwich. He then began to walk over to the exit.

Edward suddenly felt a wave of nausea hit him full force. He doubled over clutching his stomach, his eyes shut tight, dropping everything that he was carrying. He opened one eye. The room was spinning and his vision was blurry. His head hurt and flashes of pain blinded him. Screams and crying flooded his mind. The smell of blood polluted his nose, blocking out anything else. He could taste blood in the back of his throat. Edward began to cough uncontrollably. He could feel blood rise up from the back of his throat. The once white papers that were scattered around him had become stained with his blood. He couldn't breath and he could feel his hot blood trickle down from the corner of his mouth.

"Help," he cried out weakly in nothing more than a hoarse whisper. Then his vision went black and he fell to the ground unconscious.

--

Roy was walking down the hall a stack of papers in his hands. He had just gotten some more information about the murders and he needed to give it to Edward. Riza had been too busy doing something else, so he had to go give it to Edward himself.

"Where could he have run off to?" Roy asked himself as he continued to walk. He had just knocked on Ed's room, only to find that the door was unlocked and Ed was nowhere to be seen. The Colonel sighed and rounded a corner and began to walk in the direction of the cafeteria.

As Roy walked past the large double door that led to the cafeteria, he heard a loud thump. Wondering what had made that noise, Roy pushed entered the large room.

"Ed!" he cried out when he saw the blond alchemist lying in a slowly growing pool of blood. The older man rushed over to Ed's side. He quickly pressed two fingers to Ed's wrist. He let out a sigh of relief when he felt a pulse even though it was fast and Ed's breathing was shallow and pained. "I need to get him to a doctor."

Roy then picked Ed up and carried him out of the cafeteria as if he were a fragile small child. He was surprised to find that Ed was actually rather light and easy to carry. The Colonel quickly rushed over to his office, where Hawkeye, Havoc, and Fury were sitting.

"Colonel!" Riza said when she saw him holding Ed's limp body. Ed's blood had stained Roy's uniform, but the Colonel didn't care.

"Hawkeye! Havoc! Fury! We have to get Ed to the hospital!" Roy said and everyone in the room quickly forgot what they were doing and tried to get Ed to the hospital as quickly as possible.

--

"_Where am I?" Ed muttered when he found himself standing in the middle of a dark room. He guessed that it was the room of a small child since the floor was littered with toys._

"_So, you're back again. I never thought that it would be this soon" said the familiar voice that was Raith's._

"_You! Why are you here!" Ed said as he spun around to see Raith standing on the window ledge._

"_Why I'm here? Well, I can't give you the answer to that, so too bad," Raith said and climbed through the window and into the room. "You remember this place don't you?"_

"_What are you talking about?" Ed snapped, angry that he had to see Raith again._

"_This is Sam's house. He was the boy you killed before you realized what you were doing," Raith said. "His parents are downstairs crying. They still can't get over their child's death. You're tearing families apart! It's all your fault! Sam's dead because of your selfish needs!"_

"_Shut up!" Ed cried out and threw a punch at Raith, but hit only air._

"_You're still too weak. Thanks to your noble intentions you're now lying in a hospital bed. You need to drink blood; otherwise you'll die! And I don't want my pretty little half-blood to die on me. I still have some use for you," Raith said as he placed one hand on Ed's back and gave a hard push. "Good-bye for now my sweet Edward."_

_Edward let out a cry as he fell out the window. He could see the cold street rushing up to meet him. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain, but it never came._

--

Edward slowly opened his eyes to find that he was lying in a white hospital bed in a white hospital room. It was dark outside and he still felt very weak and nauseated. His head ached, but he still sat up. He felt something weighing down on his leg. Ed turned to look and found the Colonel sleeping by his bedside, his head resting on Ed's leg. A small smile appeared on Ed's lips as he fell back down onto the fluffy white pillows and fell asleep.

--

Okay, sorry for not updating last night, but I'll try to update another chapter later today. Well, there was a microscopic piece of fluff here. Not really sure if it is fluff, but what the heck. I've decided that there's going to be around 31 chapters and I have all the titles planned out. Okay, I'm going to tell you now, but this story is going to get pretty dark. Don't forget to review!


	7. Lithium

I told you that I'd write another chapter later today. My birthday is in two days! Yay! I'll finally be 13 on Tuesday! Anyways, on with the story, but first the review xD

To **hittocerebattosai: **I'm glad you like it so much Here's a Daisuke and a Dark plushie since you seem to like D.N.Angel so much –hands over plushies- Thanks for putting me in your top favorites.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, but I do own Raith and Lilith. They are mine and will do my bidding.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Seven – Lithium

--

"And why can't I leave?" Ed asked angrily. He had spent almost an entire day in the hospital and was completely and utterly bored out of his skull.

"Fullmetal! I've already told you five times! I found you in a pool of your own blood on the floor of the cafeteria! You'll stay here until the doctors figure out what is wrong with you!" Roy said. He had come to visit the young alchemist again, but if he knew that he was going to be pestered by Edward so much, then he would've remained in his office. He suddenly remembered Hawkeye's gun and erased that thought from his mind.

"But!" Edward began, but Roy cut him off.

"No buts! You'll stay here until the doctors say that you may leave. Until then, you'll stay here and rest," Roy said. "That's an order," he said when Ed opened his mouth to retort.

Ed glared angrily at Roy and stuck his tongue out childishly. "You suck," Edward said and flopped back down onto his pillows. Roy ignored him and was about to get up when the doctor entered the room, a clipboard in his hands.

"Good news!" the old doctor said happily, "Edward is completely fine, though we did find some minor odd things that seem to be completely harmless. We think he passed out because of stress or lack of sleep and he just got a minor concussion when he hit the ground." The doctor grinned a toothy grin, showing off his crooked teeth.

"I can leave?" Edward asked hopefully. He needed to get out of the hospital. He was going insane from the boredom.

The doctor shook his head sadly and pushed his small glasses up on his beak-like nose. "I'm sorry, but we'd prefer if you stay here one more night, just to make sure you're completely fine."

Ed sighed angrily and began to curse the gray-haired doctor under his breath. "I don't need to stay in this smelly hospital. I feel fine," Ed muttered angrily to himself. It wasn't the truth though. Ed felt like crap. His stomach was constantly doing flip-flops and his head hurt from the bright sunlight that entered his room.

"Well, if that is the case, then I shall take my leave. Thank you doctor and behave yourself Fullmetal. I don't want to come back here tomorrow only to find out that you've been a small thorn in everyone's side.

Ed bristled at the mention of the word 'short'. His face turned an angry shade of red and you could see that he was ready to shout at the Colonel. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PINT-SIZE MICROBE THAT CAN'T BE SEEN EVEN WITH THE MOST POWERFUL MICROSCOPE!" Ed shouted angrily, scaring the doctor and the other patients in the hospitable.

"Good-bye Fullmetal Shrimp," Roy said smugly as he walked out of the room, the doctor quickly scrambling after him. Roy could hear Ed spout off his nonsense and smiled happily to himself. He couldn't help but tease Ed. After all, he was extremely cute when he was angry. Wait, he did not just think that.

_Do I love Ed? _Roy thought as he left the hospital.

--

"Stupid bastard Colonel," Ed muttered angrily to himself as he stabbed his sandwich with a knife. If you looked carefully, you could see Roy's face painted on in ketchup. Ed laughed manically as he continued to stab the Roy-wich.

Ed soon tired of mutilating his Roy-wich and pushed his food tray off to the side. He wasn't hungry even though it was dinnertime. His stomach growled, but it didn't want the food that was on Ed's plate. He knew what it wanted and he hated himself for it.

The blond teen sighed and stared out the window. The sky was already a deep shade of purple. He could clearly see the small sliver of moon that hung in the night sky. "I guess I have till the next full moon to revert back to my human self," Edward said to himself as he played with a strand of his golden hair.

He had woken up that morning to find that someone had stolen his hair tie, so his hair cascaded down onto his shoulders. Something told him that it was Roy that did it and the Colonel would pay once Ed got out of this hellhole.

Ed sighed again and closed his eyes. He was feeling a bit light headed and all he wanted to do was sleep. He was soon fading out into unconsciousness again.

--

"_Great, another one of these weird dreams," Ed said when he found that he was standing on the roof of a very tall building. The bright lights of the city sparkled all around him, but it was completely silent up where he was._

"_You must be Edward Elric," said a feminine voice from behind Ed. "I've been wanting to meet you for a while now."_

_Ed quickly turned around to find him face to face with a beautiful teenage girl that seemed to be his age. The girl had long purple hair and had amethyst eyes that sparkled in the city's light. She wore a sleeveless skintight black dress that came down to just above her knees and a pair of black sneakers. She walked, no, floated over to Edward and stopped in front of him._

"_You're not Raith," Edward said when he saw her. Of course he was expecting Raith, and not a girl._

"_No, you may call me Lilith," she said and caressed Ed's cheek, making him shiver. The girl's touch was icy cold and it felt as if she was sucking all the warmth in his body out of him. "You are a cute little boy. You, however, are no longer human."_

"_How do you know," Ed asked, completely oblivious to the fact that she called him small._

"_You have a bite mark on your neck, but that doesn't mean that you'll remain the way you are forever," Lilith said, her voice as smooth as silk. It pulled Edward into a trance. She smiled sweetly and said, "You will find a way. If you happen to fail, I'm positive that your friends and family won't leave you all alone. You're just different, not a monster like Raith tells you. He knows nothing about you." She then moved in closer, cupping Ed's face in her pale hands. "You didn't kill all those children on purpose. It was an accident. Bad things will happen, but there is always a silver lining. Please don't give up hope. I know that you'll find a way."_

"_A way?" Ed asked. His mind was elsewhere and it felt as if he no longer had control over his body._

"_Yesssss, a way," Lilith purred as she brought her arms around Ed's neck and pulled him into a kiss._

_The kiss seemed to last an eternity. Ed knew that he didn't want this, but he couldn't pull away. He had lost all feeling in his body. Lilith pulled away and faded away along with the entire city, letting Ed fall into a deep dreamless sleep._

_--_

"You don't think you went a bit far there?" Raith asked Lilith.

"We need him to trust us right? Plus, he just got kissed by a pretty lady, that should be a nice bonus for him," Lilith said as she looked at Ed's sleeping figure.

"You're right, after all, we do need him to fulfill our purposes," Raith said.

"Don't worry Raith, I'll always love you," Lilith said as she nuzzled against him.

"And I'll always love you as well," he said.

"I know you will," she purred.

--

Well, a bit more romance in this chapter. And… Ed got kissed by Lilith! Anyways, I know that this is a pretty short chapter, but I promise that I'll write some longer ones later on. Don't forget to review! Oh! I've decided to write the name of the next chapter at the end of every chapter I finish.

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Eight - Inhuman


	8. Inhuman

Okay, I really don't have much to say. School still sucks, and what sucks even more is that I have to go there on my birthday! I don't even get to sleep in a bit! The teachers probably won't even care. Ah well, time to reply to my reviewers!

To **hittocerebattosai: **I like D.N.Angel a lot too. I can't wait for the 9th volume to come out! I also have volumes 1,2, and 4 of the anime. I need to get the rest xD I've read up to the 8th volume of Full Metal Alchemist, but I only own 1 and 2. I swear, America is anime and manga deprived. Toonami doesn't deserve to exist. Most of the crap they show is wannabe anime. Adult Swim also won't show the new episodes of Full Metal Alchemist, but I have outsmarted them and gotten the Full Metal Alchemist video game, which is awesome by the way, and watched the first two episodes of the second season! Oh! Kiss that Adult Swim! They also are going to take off Samurai Champloo! I mean why can't they take off Paranoia Agent. I don't get it and the series is weird. The opening scares me too. I hate Adult Swim for not showing the other openings for FMA. I've seen the 4th opening and it seriously is awesome! I love it! The theme song owns us all. Ready Steady Go is good, but it got old. –stabs Adult Swim with pitchfork- Wow, I'm really starting to rant here. Sorry 'bout that. Anyways, thanks. I'm glad you like this story so much.

To **The Teenage Writer: **Aw, that's too bad. Hopefully it will work soon. Good luck in your dorms. If it still won't work after a while then I'll just e-mail it to you

To **HagarenFanGirl: **Thanks Ed is just so super sexy with his hair down, so I couldn't resist. Yes, poor Ed, but he'll survive; after all, this is just the beginning.

To **Jen: **I've heard a lot about Naruto, so I'm probably going to read the manga in the store. Yes, it seems I haven't messed up with the romance, which is good –does happy dance- I'm not going to end the story here, 'cause that would be evil xD –swats Lilith with fly-swatter thing- She's my character and I still don't completely understand her, which is kind of scary actually.

To **Fullmetal: **I have a thing for vampires too. Have you read the Cirque du Freak series? That is one of the best vampire series I've ever read! I had to order some of the books from England since I couldn't stand waiting for them to come out in the US. Thanks for the review!

To** crazyanimefreak15:** Well, I'm still 12 actually, but I'll be 13 as of the 16th of August, but thanks

Thanks again to all my reviewers!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own FMA, but I do own Lilith, Raith, and the old crazy man Siba xD

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Eight – Inhuman

--

"Finally!" Ed said happily as he burst out of the hospital doors and into the outside world. After being cooped up in a tiny white washed room for a day and a half, Ed was glad to get out even thought the sun gave him a headache. He still felt slightly nauseated and his limbs felt heavier, but otherwise he felt fine. The teen happily hopped down the stone steps that led up into the hospital and took a look around.

It was another beautiful autumn day. The trees were a mixture of orange and red, making the trees seem as if their leaves were made of fire. It was slightly warmer than the rest of the days had been and the sky was completely clear save for a few wispy white clouds that drifted in the endless blue. The chirpings of numerous birds filled the air and everybody seemed to be in a cheerful mood. It seemed as if everybody had forgotten about the murders, but Ed knew that somewhere at that very moment, a small wooden casket, containing the body of a child, was being lowered into the ground.

Ed shivered at the thought of being put into a casket and buried beneath six feet of dirt. He could already picture the body, completely decomposed, flesh eating worms and insects squirming around inside the dirty skeleton. Edward Elric was mad at the vampire who had turned him into what he was, he was mad at the world for bringing such creatures into existence, but above all, he was angry with himself. He had selfishly killed all those people just to continue to survive as a monster, a creature created from the most obscure darkness. Ed was no longer part of the human society. He had become a demon that lives off the blood of others, a creation that even Satan would shirk away from. A freak, a monstrosity, a nightmare that had somehow materialized in the human world, that was what he was.

The blond vampire sighed and began to walk off in a random direction. He didn't care where he went; he just wanted to get away. The sky had suddenly turned a dark gloomy gray and rain slowly began to drizzle down, which quickly turned into a downpour, soaking Ed to the bone. The young alchemist could still feel tears stream down his face. He was a killer and had taken the lives of many people who hadn't lived long enough to find true joy in life.

Edward stopped dead in his tracks and began to wipe away his tears that just wouldn't seem to stop. His clothes were wet and were getting even wetter by the second. He would find a way to become human again, no matter what the cost.

He suddenly felt the steady beat of the rain against his body stop. Ed looked up only to find that he was staring into a pair of kind crystal blue eyes that belonged to an old man who was probably in his late sixties or early seventies. The old man was holding a large black umbrella above the both of them, making the rain fall off towards the side.

"You alright there?" the old man asked as he handed Edward a white handkerchief, which he accepted and began to wipe his tears away.

"I'll be fine," Ed said, his voice shaking slightly. It wasn't the truth. He was cold, hungry, and miserable.

"Why don't you come dry up inside and wait for the rain to stop. You'll catch a cold if you stay out here too long," the old man said and smiled. Ed just nodded in response and followed to man into a small house, which was almost at the end of the street.

--

"You can hang your wet coat over the heater over there," the man said as he poured some tea into two white cups.

"Thanks," Ed said and hung his coat over the heater.

It was warm and cozy inside the old man's house. The wooden walls were painted a pale green and a soft forest green carpet covered most of the floor. A fireplace stood in the middle of one of the walls and was surrounded by three armchairs that were a couple of shades lighter than the carpet. A small kitchen stood in one corner and a wooden table, which was surrounded by four chairs, wasn't too far off. A flight of stairs led up to the floor where Ed guessed that the bedrooms were. Paintings and other decorations covered most of the walls, but they didn't make the house feel cramped or crowded at all.

Ed sat down at the table where the old man eventually joined him and handed him a cup of hot tea. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, sipping at their tea, being careful not to burn their tongues on the hot liquid. "Thanks for giving me a place to stay till it's dry, old man," Ed said as he stared down into the brown liquid that filled his cup.

"Please call me Siba, and I appreciate the company. It's been very lonely in this house since my wife passed away, but that was a long time ago," the man said as he took a long sip of tea.

"I'm sorry about your wife," Edward said.

"Sophie always told me to be happy even when she's dead. I'm trying my best to carry out her wish," Siba said and smiled sadly. He paused before continuing, "She died when she was thirty-five. We had only been married for about thirteen years. Her body had been found drained of blood just like all the bodies that are turning up now."

Ed stiffened when Siba said this. "Do you know who did it?"

The old man nodded and said, "I know who the murderer was, but I'm not angry at them. You're probably going to think I'm crazy when I tell you this, but the one who killed Sophie was a vampire. Vampires simply survive off human blood, but they weren't the ones who chose what their diet was, so no, I don't blame them."

"But one of them killed your wife," Edward said sadly, his eyes still focused on his cup.

"I don't blame the vampire for Sophie's death, just like I don't blame you for the death of my grandson, Tom," Siba said the same sad smile plastered on his face.

"I-" Ed began, but shut his mouth in the end.

"I'm sure you're wondering how I know," the old man said and chuckled slightly to himself, "I saw the bite marks on your neck when you took your coat off. Humans who have been bitten by a vampire usually don't survive, but those that do have a faint scar, while your is completely visible. You're searching for a way to turn back right? Well, if it's what you truly want then I suggest that you go to the desert town of Vyrr. You may find some answers there."

"Thanks Gramps!" Ed said happily as he grabbed his coat and dashed out the door. The rain had finally stopped and the sun was starting to come out again. Siba smiled slightly as Edward faded into the distance.

--

Okay, that's the end of chapter 8! In special celebration of my birthday I'll try to make a nice long chapter. Please forgive me if it's short, but I'll assure you that chapter 10 is going to be very exciting. Don't forget to review!

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Nine - Pyrexia


	9. Pyrexia

Sorry for not updating for a while, but school got in the way and stuff. We're doing endurance in PE and I pretty much suck at it. Well, my birthday was good except for the fact that I had school that day. I switched Science classes! w00t! I'm happy now, so yeah. I also switched Math, but I'm switching back hopefully because it seems that the kids in my new class can't round. 8th graders that can't round! Well, enough of my ranting.

To **hittocerebattosai:** Cirque du Freak was awesome! You may be able to predict half of the ending once you read books 10 and 11, but you will never ever guess what the real ending is! It was great ending, but I still wish that it hadn't ended so soon. I just finished reading Lord Loss a new series by Darren Shan. What that man writes is pure genius! Wow, I'm glad that you're so happy.

To **madamwolf: **I'm glad that you like the story so far. I really can't decide whether I like werewolves more than vampires. I like the fact that vampires drink blood and stuff, but the prospect of turning into a crazy wolf demon thing during the night is quite appealing xD Well, I really couldn't picture Ed as a werewolf, so he's a vampire. Roy seems more like the werewolf type to me.

To **Shingo-sama:** I will try to update more often, but school is becoming more and more of a pain in the butt.

To** crazyanimefreak15:** Ah yes, the crazy old man. He's either plotting something or is just crazy xD

To **HagarenFanGirl: **I'm glad that you thought that Siba was creepy, 'cause he was supposed to be. When you say that my story is addictive I get the feeling that it's like crack or coke, but thanks anyways xD

To** Anan Koroku:** OMG! Anan! –flyingtacklehug- You read it! -luffs- Maybe I should upload it to DA sometime

To **Elric329:** I'm glad that you liked them. As for Al being in the story, well let's just say that I don't like Al very much and he won't be coming in anytime soon if at all. So, no Al will not be appearing in this story, so please forgive me if you wanted him to be, but I think he's a walking tin can that is constantly mewing.

To **Falcon-Jade-Darkness:** Heh, not if Roy doesn't find out xD Gosh, I seriously want to blurt the ending out right now, but that would completely ruin the story, so I'm not going to tell you the ending, but I'll say this. This fanfic or any of my fanfics will ever end in the main character waking up and finding out that it was all a dream. I hate that ending and will never use it, so yeah.

To** nadisrad: **I've been really busy lately, so I'll try to update as often as I can. I'm glad you liked the chapters

To **Halli05:** I'd love to get some fanart! That would be great! I'm working on some art for this story as well, spiff it up a little xD Yeah, you're right about everyone not being completely oblivious. Most of them know that something is wrong with Ed and such. Roy will find out in chapters 10, 11, and 12. Just wait a little longer

Thanks to all my reviewers! All your comments make me feel guilty for not updating sooner. If you want to find my DA account then go to samiako. I have some 'art' there. I'm not a real artist, so yeah. Anyways, here's the chapter with one of my favorite titles. It's actually a synonym for fever, so it was perfect for this chapter. Anyways, on with the story.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Nine – Pyrexia

--

Siba sighed and closed his eyes. "I held up my end of the bargain, so you have to complete your half of the deal we made," he said as he turned around to face a hooded figure who stood in a corner by the steps.

"You're right," the figure said as she stepped out of the darkness, "But sadly, there's no way to bring back the dead." And with that, Siba fell to the ground, blood pooling from a large gash that had just been made across his chest.

"Y-you p-p-promised," the old man said weakly as he took in one final gasp and then his body went limp. All the life he had left and his was only a lifeless shell.

"Too bad I don't keep promises," she said and pulled back her hood to reveal her face. It was Lilith.

--

"Colonel, it appears that Edward has just boarded a train to Vyrr," Riza said as she handed Roy some more paperwork.

"That's great," Roy said as he started the new stack of paperwork that had just been given to him. He stopped suddenly, as he processed the information Hawkeye had just told him. "Ed, left for Vyrr?" he asked innocently. Riza nodded. "That shrimp has got a lot of explaining to do when he gets back! Riza!"

"Yes, sir," she said trying to hide the fact that she had slowly begun to back away.

"Get me The Colonel's Guide To Annoying Tiny Blond Shrimp Boys, please," Roy said as he began to come up with some new ways to torture and humiliate Edward when he returned. Riza quickly went off to find the book Roy had just requested.

_Why didn't you tell me that you were leaving Edward? Did you think that I'd say no? You probably did since you think of me as a 'bastard colonel'. Where is Vyrr by the way?_

--

Edward sighed as he stared out at the sandy desert hills that continued to roll past the train. Almost six hours had passed since he left Central and it wouldn't be another three hours till they reached Vyrr. Who knew that Vyrr was so far away from Central?

The train was almost completely empty except for Ed and a couple of other passengers who were probably getting off at one of the stops they hit along the way. The train had been completely full at the beginning, but most of the passengers got off at Rosenwilde, a large shopping town. Edward was bored and his butt was starting to cramp up from the hard and uncomfortable seats.

_You would've thought that they'd at least cushion it a bit more_, Ed thought as he shifted his weight once more. He was very bored and didn't know what to do with himself until he got to Vyrr. Two hours had passed since he started to stare out at the boring landscape that surrounded him.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" a voice that probably belonged to a young boy said, snapping Ed out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" Ed said as he looked up to see a young boy, probably only twelve or thirteen years old, standing there, a brown bag slung over one shoulder. Short black hair that had been dyed bright red at the tips, hung in his reddish black eyes. The boy wore a plain black T-shirt, a pair of light gray shorts, and a pair of white sneakers. "Oh, sure," Ed said and stared out the window once more.

The boy thanked him and sat opposite of Ed. "My name's Seth by the way nice to meet you," the boy said cheerfully.

"Edward," the blond teen said as he continued to stare out the window. The collar of Ed's black shirt had moved off to the side a bit, making the two bite marks completely visible on his neck.

Seth, noticed the bite marks, but was completely unfazed by them. "Hey, Ed, smile for a second," Seth asked. Ed looked at him quizzically, but pulled his lips back into an unnatural smile. His fangs glinted in the harsh sunlight. "Never thought I'd see one on the train," Seth said more to himself than to Ed.

"See what?" Ed asked him as his awkward smile fell back into a frown.

Seth then leaned in and in a barely audible whisper said, "A vampire." Ed stiffened considerably. Seth saw his discomfort and said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to plunge a stake through your heart or anything like that. I've wanted to meet a vampire ever since I was little, so that I could prove to my childhood friends that they truly exist. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

This was definitely not what Edward was expecting. "Uh, okay?" Edward said, completely unsure of himself.

"Great! Now tell me, how'd you get turned into one in the first place?" Seth asked excitedly.

"Erm… Well, I guess I got bit by one and bit him back," Edward said, trying to remember what had happened that night. His memory was very fuzzy.

"Okay, next question. What's it like being one?" Seth asked curiously as he pressed Edward for answers.

--

Seth's questionnaire went on for about two hours. Ed had no idea that one boy could ask so many questions at one time. Most of them Ed couldn't even answer.

"Last question! I promise!" Seth said when he realized that Ed was starting to get slightly irritated. "What's it like to drink blood?"

Ed stiffened and shot Seth a nasty look. "It's the most revolting thing I've ever done in my life and I'll never do it again."

"But you'll die if you don't right?" Seth said.

"If I do, so be it. I will never kill another human being ever again!" Ed said angrily. The memories that he tried so hard to bury sprung up again, digging even deeper into old wounds.

"I'm sorry," Seth apologized and then excused himself after glancing at his watch. "I'll be right back!" Seth promised as he scampered off to the cabin in front of them.

--

"What have you found out Seth? Are there still vampires in the city? Vyrr was the great city of vampires until the humans killed them all."

"Yes, there's one that goes by the name of Edward on the train."

"Edward? Edward Elric?"

"There's no doubt about it. I saw his pocket watch when I sat down."

"You have done well Seth. Don't let the target escape."

"Father, he says that he'll never kill another human again and it looks like he hasn't eaten in a long time."

"Godammit! We need to take that sonofabitch down as soon as possible! You never know when a vampire will lose control and kill half of the city!"

"I don't understand."

"Vampires have a certain amount of control over their feeding. They won't kill unless they lose control or are complete and total bastards like most of them are. When a vampire hasn't eaten in a while then they're more likely to lose control and they will wipe out anything that gets in their way."

"Does that apply to half-vampires as well? Because that's what he says he is."

"Shit! Are you serious Seth? You better not be fucking around here. If he really is a vampire then we have to take him out as soon as we can. Take the bastard to our base. Don't fuck this up Seth!"

"I won't father. I promise that I'll make you proud."

"That's my boy."

Seth slowly placed the phone back on its hook as walked back to his seat, the same happy smile that he had before was once again plastered on his face.

--

Ed was glad to be out of that horrible train. His body was stiff and his butt had completely cramped up. He was hungry and wanted food, normal human food that could be bought in the store.

Vyrr was a rather large town that was completely surrounded by a vast desert. Most of the buildings were made of metal, giving the town an industrial feel. Shops lined the streets and there were no cars as far as Ed could tell. He had seen a couple of bicycles, but that was it. Flowers and fountains were scattered throughout the city, trying to brighten up the rather drab and ugly town.

"Hey Ed! Let's go get some food! I've been here before to visit my grandparents and know a great place in the back of town! Come on!" Seth said and began to run off in one direction. Ed shrugged slightly and followed him.

--

"Are we there yet?" Ed asked. He was tired and even hungrier than before. It felt like they had been walking for hours.

"Let's take a shortcut through this warehouse! It leads to the street where the restaurant is on!" Seth called out and entered the warehouse. Ed quickly followed him inside.

The warehouse was old and filled with package merchandise. "Seth!" Ed called out, his voice echoed throughout the warehouse. _Where'd he go?_

"There you are my little bat," a deep masculine voice said from behind Ed, making the blond alchemist quickly spin around. "We've been waiting for you."

"We?" Ed asked when he saw that a large man that looked very similar to Seth, minus the red tipped hair. The man was very muscular and had a square jaw. His black hair was slightly longer than Seth's and a beard was starting to sprout on his face.

Ed suddenly felt two powerful hands grab his arms and pin him to the ground. He struggled to get back up, but it was all in vain. "What do you want," Ed said angrily.

"We don't like it when filthy half-vampires trespass into our territory," the man said, "Isn't that right Seth?"

"Yes," Seth said simply as his stepped out from the shadows.

Before Ed could shout out a string of curses he felt something sink into the back of his neck, making him gasp in pain. His vision soon became blurry and his body was burning up. He let the darkness envelope him. The last he saw was a dark shape descending from the rafters, ripping the man to pieces.

--

"Ungh," he muttered. His forehead felt very hot, making it obvious that he had a fever. He slowly opened his eyes and found that it was dark outside. Ed slowly got up, shaking slightly, and looked around. The walls and floor of the warehouse were dyed a deep crimson and bodies littered the floor.

_Did I do this?_

--

Well, I'm done. I'll be updating as often as I can since I really don't have much time anymore with school and all, but I'll try. Don't forget to review!

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Ten - Unbound


	10. Unbound

Hello! It's finally Saturday and I'm so happy! Well, I'm waiting for Adult Swim to start showing the new FMA episodes, even though I've already seen the first two on the free DVD thing that came with the 2nd FMA game. Oh! Kiss that Adult Swim. The 2nd FMA game was awesome by the way. A bit on the easy and short side, but I had a lot of fun with it. Wow! I got 11 reviews on the last chapter! I luff you guys

To **crazyanimefreak15:** Thanks so much! Here's an Al plushie with mewing action xD –hands over plushie-

To **nadisrad:** I'm going to try and update at least twice a week since school has gotten to be a big pain in the butt. Here's a Riza plushie –hands over plushie-

To **hittocerebattosai:** I read number 9 last summer along with numbers 8,10,and 11. You don't like gore? What's the matter with you? Well, this story is going to get pretty gory, but it's not like I'm going to describe what the guts look like. Ick! I started school on August 10th this year and get out on June 7th. We get lots of vacation in between though xD Here's a Greed plushie –hands over plushie- And here are some pins to stick in him if you hate him –hands over pins-

To **Elric329:** I'll try to update as soon as I can, but I've be getting a lot of homework lately, so I don't have much time as I'd like.

To **The Teenage Writer: **Heh. We're all sadists at some point in our lives, but some are more than others. I laugh at everyone's misfortune, but does that make me a bad person? Anyways, here's a Winry Voodoo Doll -hands over doll-

To **madamwolf:** Yes, poor Ed, but at least he has Mustang to make him feel better. Well, this is a whenever kind of fic. You don't start school for another couple of weeks! I swear, my school is like the only one that's already started. Here's an Envy plushie –hands over plushie-

To **Shingo-sama:** Blood bank? Well, the thing is that the blood is no longer good if the human has been dead for longer than 24 hours or if the blood has been exposed for longer than a couple of hours. Ed should start hanging out a morgue or something xD Here's a cookie and a Hughes plushie –hands over cookie and plushie-

To** psychofullmetalfan: **I wish I were still on vacation… It is a conspiracy! Everyone is against Ed and it's only going to get worse for our little blond vampire. Here's a Sloth plushie –hands over plushie-

To **anantheinsane:** Yay! You have an account here now! Here's a Pride/Ed plushie 'cause he owns all the homunculi xD –hands over plushie-

To **KamauFox:** Ed just needs to drink some human blood and then he'll live, but we all want Ed to become human once more and for Roy to find out of course xD Here's a Roy plushie with working flame gloves –hands over plushie-

To** Falcon-Jade-Darkness: **Yes the book really does exist, well in my imagination anyways. Here's a copy of it –hands over The Colonel's Guide To Annoying Tiny Blond Shrimp Boys-

Well, it turns out that I forgot to add a disclaimer last time, so you get two this time! Oh goody!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Full Metal Alchemist and never will unless I become a multi-billionaire and buy it off of the person who owns it now. I do own Lilith, Raith, Seth, and of course the deceased crazy old man Siba xD

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, but I do own my own Zen Garden in a Box and Lilith, Raith, and, well you know the rest.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Ten - Unbound

--

Ed sighed as he leaned against the back of his uncomfortable train seat. He was once again sitting in the almost empty train that went from Vyrr to Central, only stopping at a couple of towns and cities along the way. His visit to Vyrr made him realize one thing; there were people that hated vampires with a passion and wouldn't hesitate to kill one.

"Would you like a complimentary newspaper, Sir?" a timid voice asked, making Ed turn his head and see that a small girl who was probably only eight years old. He nodded and the girl quickly handed him a newspaper and scurried off to the next passenger.

The teen's eyes widened when he saw the front page. 'Pyrites Meet A Bloody End!' was printed in large bold letters at the top of the page and a large black and white picture of the warehouse, its walls drenched in blood and bodies littering its floor, was printed just beneath the headline.

"The bodies of the notorious gang, The Pyrites, were found early this morning. Each body was ripped apart and their blood stained the floors and walls. Was this the work of vampires? No one knows. The Pyrites were well-known vampire hunters and heroes to the city of Vyrr, which was once the home of many vampires. We asked some of the nearby residents to share their thoughts on the matter with us…" Ed read aloud, trailing off at the end.

_So last night wasn't a dream. Did I do that? I remember a black shadow and then nothing else. Was it someone else?_

Ed thought about all the events that had happened during the time that he had been a vampire during the entire train ride back to Central. He was so immersed into his own thoughts that he almost forgot that he had to get off a Central.

--

"Now arriving at Central! Please gather all your personal belongings and exit the train if this your stop!" the conductor bellowed, making Ed wake up as if he had been dreaming the entire time.

"Wha?" Ed mumbled as he stared around a what-the-hell-is-going-on-what'd-I-miss look plastered onto his face. He then realized that he had finally arrived in Central. Ed hadn't brought anything with him on the train, since he had forgotten to pack in his rush, just like he had also forgotten to tell Mustang where he was going.

_Oh shit! Mustang! Damn! Damn! Damn! He's going to roast me for this, not to mention say every 'short' comment known to man._

Ed quickly walked to the exit of the train and looked around, just to make sure no one he knew was there. The last thing he needed was to meet Mustang or anyone else from HQ right now.

_Okay, coast clear,_ Ed thought as he cautiously stepped out of the train and took a couple of steps forward. No Mustang._ Thank you God!_

Ed then began to walk as normally as he could to the station exit.

"Where do you think you're going, Fullmetal," said a voice that Ed knew all too well.

Ah shit… 

--

"What were you thinking? Leaving Central without telling me first! As long as I'm Colonel and you're under my command you will follow all my orders, meaning that you'll tell me if you plan on leaving! Understand, Fullmetal?" Roy said.

"Yes," Ed muttered angrily. The Colonel must've been rehearsing for this talk since he had what seemed like a never-ending arsenal of 'short' comments that never ceased to tick Edward off.

Roy sighed and leaned back in his chair. His office was completely empty except for him and Edward. "There's something wrong with you Fullmetal. You've been acting very jumpy these past few days and seem to be tired and sick all the time. And you also go out to some distant town even though there's no lead on the Philosopher's Stone," Roy said as he fiddled with a pen.

"There's nothing wrong," Ed said. Roy gave him a who-the-hell-are-you-trying-to-fool-with-that-bull-crap look. "I just haven't been feeling well these past few days and heard that there was a very good doctor up in Vyrr, but it turned out that he had moved away a couple of months ago."

Roy sighed. He knew that what Ed had just told him was complete and utter crap, but didn't feel like pressing the matter further. "You're free to go," Roy said and Ed quickly exited the room, leaving the Colonel all alone.

_Why won't you tell me what's wrong with you, Ed? Do you think that I'd abandon you? Leave you all alone? How could I do that? I love you after all._

--

The rest of the day passed without much excitement and Ed spent most of it locked up in his room. There was a constant pounding in his head and he felt extremely nauseous. Ed thought that it was just one of the many uncomfortable side effects of not drinking blood. His entire body was sore and he felt as if his strength had completely deserted him.

Ed rolled over in his bed. He had dozed off for who knows how long. His blinds were always closed, so he didn't know whether it was night or day. Ed's stomach growled, pleading with him to go eat something in the cafeteria.

After half an hour of crying and pleading, Ed's stomach finally got his way and the blond alchemist ate dinner alone. He felt slightly better after his stomach felt completely full, but the nausea was still there as well as the headache. He also felt slightly feverish.

_Maybe some cold water will help._

It was half past eight o'clock and Ed was the only one in the bathroom. He let out a small gasp of surprise when he saw the empty mirror, but then remembered that he no longer had a reflection. He sighed and turned on the water in one of the sinks that lined the wall. Cupping his hands together to catch the water, Ed splashed the cool water on his face, sighing in happiness as his face cooled down.

Suddenly, the ground seemed to lurch out from beneath him, making Ed grab the sink, so that he wouldn't fall over. He felt very sick and the dull pounding had turned into sharp jabs of pain that blinded him. Ed felt dizzy and his vision was blurry. He tried to step forward towards the door, but fell to the ground. His body was burning up. It was if he had been engulfed in a fiery inferno that would reduce anything to ashes in mere seconds. Then everything went black.

--

"Colonel! There's been a disturbance at the Grand Neko Hotel! We need to get down there now!" Riza called out as she burst into the office, only to find a sleeping Roy. Clearly irritated, she took out her gun and shot two shots, immediately waking Roy up.

"Wha!" he cried out as he fell to the floor.

"Colonel, we're needed down at the Grand Neko Hotel. There's been a slaughter," Riza said as Roy nodded and slipped his gloves.

--

_Crying. Screaming. The noise. Sirens. What's happening? My head hurts. Make the noise stop. Make it stop! STOP THE NOISE!_

"STOP!" Ed cried out as he covered his hands over his ears. He slowly opened his eyes and immediately wished that he hadn't. The blond alchemist was standing in the middle of a large room that appeared to be the ballroom of a large luxury hotel. The large windows were cracked and some were completely shattered. Tables that once were pilled high with food were nothing more than a pile of wood splinters. The room was dark, but not dark enough to hid the horrific sight that lay before him. The dark outlines of bodies lined the floor, all of them unmoving. Blood splattered the walls and lay in large pools on the floor. Sirens blared outside and lights shone through the broken windows.

Edward could feel tears stream down his face, mixing with the wet blood that covered his cheeks. A small trickle of blood ran down from the corner of his mouth and Ed could still taste the warm metallic taste of blood in his mouth. His hands and clothes were drenched in blood and his hair hung limply around his face, the hair tie had obviously gotten away.

Sobs wracked Ed's body as he slumped to the ground. He had lost control once more and had killed everyone in the hotel, a grand total of ninety-five people. He had promised himself that he would not loose control over himself ever again and he had broken that promise.

"Ed! Edward! Is that you?" Riza called out when she entered the room, Roy Mustang, Havoc, and Fury were not far behind. She lowered her gun and stared at the carnage that was scattered across the room.

"Holy," Havoc said when he entered right behind Riza, an unlit cigarette clamped in between his teeth.

Fury, who came in right after Havoc, fainted right on the spot. The sight of this much blood did not sit well with him. Havoc immediately rushed to his side and tried to wake him up.

"Fullmetal!" Roy said as he rushed up to the crying teen. Kneeling down in front of him Roy said in a kind and soft voice, "What happened, Ed? Why are you here?"

Edward took in a shaky breath and said in a hoarse whisper, "I'm a monster… I don't deserve to live…"

"What are you talking about, Edward? You're not a monster," Roy said and gently lifted up Ed's chin with one gloved hand, revealing Ed's blood and tear-stained face.

"I'm sorry…" Ed said as more tears streaked down his face. Without giving it a second thought, Ed threw his arms around the Colonel and began to sob uncontrollably. "I'm so sorry," Ed said in between sobs.

Completely surprised by Ed's action, Roy paused for a moment and then pulled Ed in closer by wrapping his own arms around Ed's small body. "It's going to be alright," Roy whispered softly to Ed as he closed his eyes.

--

Wheeeeee! We finally have some EdxRoy fluff! Well, this was a bit of sad chapter, and it almost made me cry while I was writing it. Wow, I'm so stupid. Roy's coming closer to the truth and Ed's lost control again. Before you say anything, Ed did kill 95 people, but he didn't drink all their blood. He just looses control over his body and once he starts killing people he can't stop until they're all dead, or he snaps out of it. Anyways, don't forget to review!

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Eleven – Swimming Through Lies


	11. Swimming Through Lies

'Tis me again! Okay, nothing much to report today, so I'll just go ahead and respond to all my reviews!

To **Elric329:** Yes, poor Ed. I feel bad for torturing him so much.

To **Takkie-Chan: **Eep! Don't hurt me! I promise to continue this story and not leave it to rot in the dust.

To **crazyanimefreak15:** Er… Sorry, but I did say that this was going to be a RoyxEd pairing a couple chapters back, but I'll go ahead and put it in the summary. Enjoy your Al plushie with its mewing action xD

To **Shingo-sama:** I do read Darren Shan and I pretty much worship the ground he walks on xD No, it's not that bad, but I'm obsessed enough to order his books from England and have 'em shipped over to me.

To **Anan Koroku: **I shall write more and there won't be much EdxRoy parts for a while… I think… I do know that Chapter 12 is going to be kinda fluffy, so yeah. Sorry Anan ;

To **hittocerebattosai: **You read it 6 times! OMG! I luff you! –hugs-

To **Miko102: **Why do people threaten me so? Ah well… Yesh, I do love cliffhangers, but I will try to limit them.

To **HagarenFanGirl: **Yay! Someone does like the RoyxEd fluff. I just couldn't stand having WinryxEd pairing, and probably never will, but I think RoyxEd is cute. Does that make me a pervert or something? Man, Anime and Manga has seriously messed with my brain. Yes, poor Fury as well, but Havoc will take good care of him

To **Halli05: **Hell, I can't draw any of the FMA characters for beans. I make Ed look like a freakin' girl and Roy looks just weird. If you squint at my drawing of him you can see a squished tomato xD

To **fmafan-92: **This story is weird, but I like weird and creepy things, so yeah…

To **madamwolf: **I feel bad for Ed too. Here's a knife and a Hughes plushie. You can use the knife to stab the Envy plushie till your hearts content. I think Envy's actually a guy, who can change into a girl and has a very girly voice. I'm sure that he's a guy though. I personally like Envy, but I'm mad at him for killing Hughes. I seriously cried during that episode, so I'm just in denial about Hughes's death xD –hands over knife and Hughes plushie-

To **KamauFox:** Mustang is so thick xD He's finally figuring stuff out, but he'll need one final push to realize what Ed is.

To **eternalflamingdragon: **Er… Thank you. I'm glad you think that way about my story. You're free to base some things off of my story, but I won't be pleased if you completely copy me. I'm not to kind with people who rip off/copy/steal my ideas and stuff. It has a habit of ticking me off. Thanks for the review

To **Jen:** Wow, I can't answer any of your questions because that would completely spoil some things xD Anyways, I'll keep on writing, so don't worry 'bout that.

To **A**: It is a sad story, but it is rather cute sometimes, well, if you like RoyxEd, which apparently, half of my reviewers don't like -- 

To **Dairokkan: **Okay, then. On with the vampires I guess.

Well, thanks to all my reviewers! I appreciate all your comments. I'm just going to say that this is a RoyxEd pairing, so you don't have to continue reading if you don't like it, or you can just skip the fluffy parts, but some of them may matter in the end. I swear that it is only going to be some fluff, none of that other stuff, 'cause I just won't do that.

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own Full Metal Alchemist and probably never will, but at least I have Raith, Lilith, and Seth to keep me company since Siba was killed off in Chapter 9 xD

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Eleven – Swimming Through Lies

--

Ed sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair that had been placed in the middle of a small white room. White walls. White tiled floor. A table. Two chairs. Nothing else. He could hear voices yelling outside the room. His clothes and skin were caked in blood. His eyes were red from crying and the metallic taste of blood coated his tongue. Ed didn't even look up when he heard the slam of a door and the sound of footsteps heading his way.

"Ed?" a voice said gently. Ed looked up to see Lieutenant Colonel Hughes standing next to him. "Are you going to be all right?"

"Yeah… I'll… Be fine…" Ed mumbled as he looked back down. Hughes sighed sadly. He hated to see Ed like this.

"We've just talked to the only two survivors from the incident and they described a tall muscular man with black hair and red eyes. One of them, a woman, is coming to see you in a little bit, just to confirm that you were not the one she saw committing the crime," Hughes said as he walked towards the door, "I'll be back with her in about ten minutes, so just sit tight until then."

Ed nodded and didn't move when Hughes slammed the door. He was unable to understand the recent events, but he did realize that he was the one who killed all those people. Being covered in their blood and tasting the sickening metallic taste that his inhuman side longed for proved that. The screams and sirens were still ringing in his ears. Images began to flash before his dulled golden eyes.

--

_A woman screamed._

_Children cried._

_The sickening cracks of their bodies filled the air. Bones snapping in two like twigs._

_Crashes. _

_Shattering glass._

_More screams._

_Monster! He's a fucking monster! Run!_

_Ally! Come to Mommy! Please!_

_Paul! Wake up! Don't give up on me now! We can make it!_

_Blood. Splatters of it everywhere. Walls painted crimson. Blood. It collects in giant pools of red around the bodies of the dead._

_No!_

_More crying._

_Mommy! Help! Save me from the monster!_

_Not a monster…_

_MONSTER!_

_I'm not a monster…_

_HELP!_

_DON'T CALL ME THAT!_

_Final snap._

_Body falls limp._

_More blood._

_Silence._

_No more life._

_The air is still._

_Sirens. They fill the air with their cries._

_Bright lights. Blinded._

_Need to hide! Go! Run!_

_Fall back to reality._

_Waking up._

_Ed…_

_A voice?_

_Ed!_

_Leave me alone! I'm a monster!_

_ED! WAKE UP!_

--

Ed opened his eyes to find himself sprawled across the floor, a very concerned Hughes hovering above his face. "What happened?" Ed managed to croak out in a hoarse whisper.

"I guess that you fell asleep. All the stress from tonight must've made you tired," Hughes said as he offered a hand to help Ed up, which Ed gratefully took.

The blond alchemist's head throbbed uncomfortably and his vision remained slightly blurry. He looked up at Hughes and saw that there was a woman behind him. Ed became as still as stone, almost like a deer caught in headlights. The woman behind Hughes looked exactly like the girl in his dreams.

"Why don't you have a seat, Ms. Witherfort," Hughes said as he motioned to the chair across from the one Ed had been sitting in. The woman thanked him politely and sat down. "Ed, why don't you sit down as well," Hughes said. Ed nodded and sat down, his eyes still fixed on the woman. "Well, why don't you tell us your story, Ms. Witherfort."

The woman nodded and began her story. "I had just arrived at the Grand Neko Hotel and there weren't any of the bellhops available to carry my luggage, which was too large for me to carry on my own. This young man, Edward, saw my dilemma and offered to help me. I was quite grateful that he wanted to help me carry my bags, so I accepted his offer. We both walked up to my room. I carried one of my bags, while he carried to last two. I was so grateful for his help that I invited him to come to the party that was going on in the ballroom downstairs. He said that he couldn't, but I insisted, so he eventually gave in and we went down to the ballroom. When we were just outside the ballroom's double doors, a large crash and an earsplitting scream reached our ears. Clearly wanting to know what was the matter, Edward quickly opened the door. The sight that lay before us was ghastly and will haunt my dreams for as long as I live. A sea of bodies drenched in their own blood lay before us and a tall man with gleaming red eyes and black hair stood before us. His hands glistened with the blood of all those innocent people, so naturally I screamed. The man saw us and headed towards us at an inhuman speed. Edward quickly pushed me out of the way and told me to go and hide. He then shut the doors, trapping the man and himself inside. I did as Edward had told me and took refuge in my room, which is the only reason that I came out unscathed. The police came not too long after I shut my bedroom door."

The woman then sighed, signaling that she was finished. Hughes, who had closed his eyes as the woman told her story, slowly opened them and looked towards Ed.

"Is this the truth?" he asked, his voice serious.

"I-" Ed began, but stopped in mid-sentence. He knew that he needed to say that the woman's story wasn't true and that he was the killer, but his mouth wouldn't let him utter the truth.

_Say yes, _a voice hissed from the back of Edward's mind.

"I-"

_SAY IT!_

"Yes, it's the truth," Edward finally said, his eyes staring down and the cold tiled floor.

_That's my good little Half-Blood,_ the voice whispered as it faded back into nothingness.

Hughes then stood up and said, "I'll be sure to tell the Colonel about this. So you're off the hook for now Ed. Oh! Black Hayate ate has gone missing, so if you see him could you please tell Riza; she's awfully worried." He then turned to the woman and said, "Thank you for your time. I'll be sure to have one of our personnel escort you back to your home." The woman gave a small nod and stood up. Both Hughes and the woman left the room, leaving Ed all alone.

_Why did I tell them that what she said was true?_

_Isn't it obvious? You didn't want to be sniffed out, so you lied._

_Why did she help me though? And why did she look like that girl?_

_You mean Lilith? As for why she helped you, that's a secret._

_Who are you anyways?_

_You don't remember me? Oh, I'm so hurt._

_Just give me a straight answer._

_Oops! I have to go! See you later my shrimpy little Half-Blood!_

_WHO ARE YOU CALLING A TINY LITTLE SHRIMP EGG THAT CAN ESCAPE BEING CAUGHT BY SEEWEAD SINCE IT CAN FIT THROUGH THE MICROSCOPIC SEEWEAD PORES!_

--

"Dammit," Edward muttered under his breath as he walked down the hallway towards his room. He felt sick and wanted to sleep, after all, he had just gone almost twenty-four hours without sleep.

Ed was soon lying down on the familiar comfortable mattress of his bed. Not even bothering to change out of his blood stained clothes,he began toslip into a blissful dreamless sleep.

--

'I'm going to figure out what's troubling Edward so much," Roy Mustang muttered to himself as he walked briskly through the library. The librarian had told him that Ed usually sits in the farthest corner in the back of the library, where no one would dare disturb him least they wished to face his wrath.

The library smelled of old paper and musty dust covered leather covers. Shelves stood neatly in rows and each one was pilled high with books of every shape, size, and color. There was a couple of tables and chair where you could sit down and read till the library closed down for the night. Ed spent most of his time in this two-story building, trying to find out information about the Philosopher's stone.

After walking past what seemed like millions of bookcases, Roy found himself standing in the corner where Ed usually stood, reading thick volumes that were probably twice his size. Roy chuckled slightly at that. Most of the books in the library were gigantic, yet the small alchemist read them with ease. Roy sighed and looked around. He saw a large pile of books strewn across the floor. One of them caught Roy's eye. It was a deep forest green that had golden trimmings. Roy picked it up and began to read the first yellowed page that sparked his interest.

_**Vampires and Other Creatures of the Night**_

_Vampires are creatures that survive by drinking the blood of humans or that of some specific animals, as the blood of some are poisonous and will kill a vampire. These animals include cats, snakes, and weasels. Bats, rats, wolves, and dogs are quite friendly to vampires and will befriend them easily. Vampires cannot survive on animal blood alone and will die if they do not get an adequate amount of human blood. The same goes for the blood of a human who has died, but for the blood of the deceased to have any effect then the blood must be extracted within twenty-four hours of the death. Although human blood in one of their sources of food, vampires do need to eat regular human food to stay in good health. Most full-blooded vampires will be able to sprout bat wings at will and be able to fly. There have been some rare cases of half-vampires being able to do this. Neither a half-vampire nor a full-vampire is able to transform themselves into bats though some do believe that they can. Crucifixes, garlic, and other holy items do not have any effect on vampires. Vampires can be killed by any normal way a human can be, though please bear in mind that they are harder to kill. They are nocturnal creatures…_

Roy quickly read the rest of the chapter and put the book back where he had found it. _Has Ed become a vampire? Wait! What am I thinking? Vampires don't exist! There must be some other explanation…_

--

The Colonel thought about what he had just read for the rest of the day, making completing his paperwork three times as hard, which made Hawkeye threaten to shoot him three times more often. It was a simple fact really. Roy didn't like paperwork and it didn't like him. He was also terrible at concentration on such boring tasks. He would enjoy doing paperwork more if he would be signing a form to make all female military personnel wear skimpy mini skirts, but that would probably never happen and he was sure that Riza would make sure of that.

"Hmm… Riza in a mini skirt," he muttered to himself, which unfortunately was loud enough for Riza to hear.

"Colonel," she said angrily as she stood up from her desk. Roy could already see her reaching for her gun, which she always kept on her person.

_Ah shit…_

--

Roy groaned and rubbed his cheek, which was now covered in a large red mark that had the shape of a hand. "Mental note to self: Do not under any circumstance picture Riza in a mini skirt for she will slap you and almost hit you with a barrage of bullets," he muttered as he walked out of HQ and onto the street.

It was almost ten o'clock and the sky was completely dark; a thick layer of clouds hung overhead. Streetlamps illuminated Roy's path as he walked towards his house. He was usually home earlier, but Riza had purposefully given him more paperwork because of the earlier incident. Roy decided that it would be easier to cut through the park, making him reach his house and more importantly, his bed, in less than ten minutes.

Leaves crunched under Roy's boots as he walked down the cement path that stretched throughout the park. It was slightly darker in the park as there were fewer lamps. Roy suddenly stopped when he saw a figure sitting on one of the plain wooden park benches.

_Who is that? _Roy thought as he moved closer, but he was far enough away to remain hidden to whoever what there.

--

Ed sighed as he flicked a couple of rocks that he had collected during his walk through the park off the bench's wooden surface. He was tired and hadn't been able to fall asleep without waking up every five minutes because of the horrible images that had been buried deep within the catacombs of his mind suddenly resurfaced.

The loud rumbling of thunder alerted Edward to the coming of a storm, but he didn't care. Droplets of rain started to steadily pour down, making Ed's long blond hair stick to the back of his neck and face.

_Why am I standing here? It's pouring and I need to get home,_ Roy thought as he moved behind a tree that was rather close to the bench on which Ed was sitting.

Ed sighed and closed his eyes. He just wanted all the memories of the past week to fade away. He wanted to become human again more than anything. Ed suddenly thought of Al and scolded himself for being so selfish.

_How can I just sit here worrying about my own problems when Al has lost his entire body? I need to find a way to get his body back, _Ed thought as the rain fell down onto his head and clothes, soaking him thoroughly.

A loud bark, snapped Ed out of his thoughts and back to reality. Ed opened his eyes to see a small black and white puppy, who was known as Black Hayate.

_Why is he here? Oh yeah, he ran away from Riza. I better go bring him back to her._

Ed bent down and picked up the small wet puppy. Almost the instant Ed touched Black Hayate; a wave of nausea washed over him and a terrible headache racked his brain, making him wince. His vision then began to fade in and out and he felt extremely dizzy. The world was spinning around him and then all went black.

--

Roy's breath got caught in his throat as he witnessed the scene before him. There was Black Hayate squirming as Ed sank his teeth into the poor creature's neck. The Colonel couldn't believe it. Ed really was a vampire, a creature of the night that feasted on the blood of others. He took a couple of steps back, unable to believe what he was seeing.

_I'm dreaming. Ed is not a vampire and is most definitely not drinking Black Hayate's blood. I'm dreaming and I must've had a couple of beers too many or something. This. Is. Not. Happening._

Roy looked up and saw that the once squirming form of the puppy was now limp; its eyes were glazed over. Black Hayate was dead. Roy pinched himself as he continue to tell himself that it was a dream. He felt a twinge of pain as he pinched his arm.

_It's not a dream…_

--

_What's happening?_ Ed asked himself as he finally woke up. He was still standing in the same place that he had been when he blacked out. The taste of blood was strong in his mouth and he looked down and saw the deathly still form of Black Hayate.

_No…_

Ed felt his grip around the black and white puppy's body loosen and the small body fell to the ground with a sickening thud.

_Please… Not again…_

Ed could feel tears form in his eyes and then begin to roll down his cheeks. The rain started to pour down even harder, forming large puddles on the ground.

_Why! Why did it have to happen again! Am I going to keep killing until I die?_

Sobs racked Ed's body as he looked up at the sky. The rain pounded against his bloodstained lips. Ed wiped his mouth with one gloved hand and saw that they were large spots of blood staining the white cloth.

"Ed?" Roy called out as he stepped out from behind the tree, making himself known to Edward.

--

Eep! Please don't kill me! I told you that this story was depressing! Aw, poor Edo. You just want to give him a hug now don't you? I swear I almost cried while I wrote this. Poor Black Hayate –strokes him- Don't forget to review!

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Twelve - Unerasable Sin

(( I know that unerasable is not a word, but it sounds better than inerasable xD ))


	12. Unerasable Sin

I feel so bad for killing off Black Hayate 'cause he was so cute. Ah well, moving on. We're finally at Chapter 12! w00t! –does happy dance- I'm just going to warn you now. This is chapter with RoyxEd fluff. Seriously, I really don't want to hear your rants on how much you hate the pairing. If you really don't like it then don't read this story because there's going to be RoyxEd moments, thus the reason for it being called a RoyxEd fic. Okay, now, moving on once again. Time to reply to my reviewers!

To **Dairokkan: **I feel bad about killing off Black Hayate now…

To **hittocerebattosai: **O.O Woah, you're pretty happy. I'm sorry I update so slowly. Thanks for telling your friend about my story.

To **Shingo-sama: **Yes, poor Black Hayate, but someone that mattered had to die though. Maybe I should've killed off Armstrong instead –hates Armstrong-

To **Elric329: **Thanks, I think I'm only good at writing really sad stories though…

To **Prides Tears: **Sugar is awesome –nods- It makes you start bouncing off the walls xDDD I'm glad you like my story so much.

To **madamwolf: **Glad I'm not the only one in denial. HUGHES STILL LIVES! –gets hit with tranquilizer dart- He… will… liiiiiiiiiiiiive… -passes out-

To **A: **Stop making me feel so guilty! –hides behind chair-

To **Hikari-Aoi: **'Tis a sad story and will probably get even sadder as it progresses. You will find out how Roy reacts in this chapter. Wheeeee! –is high on sugar-

To **HagarenFanGirl: **Okay, that's a relief, but that doesn't mean that Anime and Manga still hasn't messed with my head xD Is it just me or does everyone think that Anime and Manga is Pokemon or Sailor Moon O.o;

To **sailorstar14: **-pats Ed- He's being tortured a lot isn't her, but things will work out… Hopefully.

To **pyschofullmetalfan: **No, Raith and Lilith aren't really talking telepathically to Ed. Their appearances in Ed's dreams will be explained, so yeah. And no, Wrath will no be making an appearance and neither will the other Homunculi.

To **Jen: **The guilt! –feels very guilty-

Thanks to all my reviewers and just in case you don't even bother to read my message at the very top, let me repeat the important part of it.

**WARNING/ THERE WILL BE ROYXED FLUFF IN THIS CHAPTER! DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO AND MOST DEFINITELY DO NOT RANT TO ME ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU HATE THE PAIRING!**

Now that that's over with, let's start Chapter 12!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, but I do own Raith, Lilith, Seth, and Siba, so keep your slimy mitts off 'em.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Twelve – Unerasable Sin

--

"Ed? Is that you?" Roy called out as he steeped out into the open, making Ed's eyes widen in surprise.

_Shit! Why did it have to Mustang of all people? Dammit! Think fast. Think fast, _Ed screamed inside his head.

"Ed?" Roy called out once more as he took a shaky step forwards. Ed then turned around and did what most people would do in a situation like this. He ran.

Before the blond teen could take even two steps, he felt a hand grab his arm, keeping him from moving forward.

"Let me go!" Ed said angrily as he tried to break free of the Colonel's grip in vain.

"Ed, before you run away, please answer me one question. Are you a vampire?" Roy asked softly. Ed relaxed slightly and Roy let go of his arm.

"Yes," Ed said in a barely audible whisper, "I was the one who killed all those people at the ball." Ed drew in a shaky breath and continued, "You probably think I'm a monster, a heartless killer. If you're going to kill me, then please, kill me now. If I stay alive then more people will die. The killing won't end until I'm gone." The teen could feel tears running down his cheeks, not that they weren't already wet enough thanks to the steady downpour.

Ed certainly did not expect what happened next. Roy had wrapped his arms around Edward's shoulders and had pulled him into a hug.

"How could I ever kill you, Ed? Do you really think I would? I don't care whether you're human or not. You never chose this path and I'm going to help you in any way I can, even if you remain the way you are now. You're still Edward, the short tempered bean who is searching for the Philosopher's Stone," Roy said and closed his eyes, the rain beating down upon his head.

"I want to become human again," Ed sobbed, "I don't want to kill anymore." Ed then turned around and returned the hug, crying into the folds of Roy's wet blue military uniform.

"It's going to be all right, Ed. I'm going to help you become human again, even if I have to die trying," Roy whispered.

_I'll still love you even if you aren't human._

--

Roy sighed as he walked up the stone steps towards Riza's house, clutching a small white bundle of cloth in his arms. He had been dreading this moment, but he couldn't make Ed do it, so it was up to him. Thankfully the rain had returned to a light drizzle.

He sighed and knocked on the wooden door. The sound of footsteps neared the door and he could hear the turning of a key inside a lock.

"Colonel?" Riza said surprised. She had not expected to see him at her doorstep this late; it was almost eleven o'clock, after all.

"Riza," Roy began as he loosened the cloth around the bundle, revealing the limp form of Black Hayate. "I found him lying on the street. A car hit him. I'm so sorry, Riza, I wasn't there in time to save him."

"No…" Riza said as she saw her puppy's lifeless body, "This can't be…" She could feel tears begin to form in her eyes, but she would not let herself cry in front of the Colonel. She muttered a small thank you and took the bundle from Roy.

"I'm sorry, Riza," Roy said once more. Riza nodded in response and closed the door, cradling the form of her dead companion in her arms.

_Why? Why Black Hayate? Why'd you have to die? I promise I'll find whoever killed you and make them pay,_ Riza thought angrily as salty tears began to roll down the sides of her face.

--

The rain had started to pour down again and Roy had been caught right in the middle of it. At least he was only a couple of minutes away from his house when it started. His black hair was plastered to his forehead and his uniform felt even heavier thanks to the rain. He was tired and all he wanted to do was go to sleep.

He was soon standing in front of his own house, but the rain was still pouring down, drenching everything and everyone outside. Roy unlocked the door and stepped inside, soaking the wooden floor. Not wanting to track nasty muddy footsteps all over the house, he pulled off his boots and placed them by the door.

The Colonel sighed and walked into the kitchen, only to find a sleeping Edward sitting at the table.

_Why's Ed here? Oh yeah, the gates back at HQ were locked and no one would get up off their ass to open them. Figures._

Roy sighed and picked up Ed sleeping form, which was lighter than he expected, and carried him up the steps up to his bedroom. Carefully placing, Ed on his bed, Roy pulled the covers over the teen and turned off the lights.

_Guess I'm sleeping on the couch tonight._

--

Well, that's the end of Chapter 12! Sorry it's so short, but yeah… I hope you like it and don't forget to review!

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Thirteen - Torment


	13. Torment

I am so sorry **eternalflamingdragon**! I can't believe I forgot to reply to your review! Forgive me! I am a worthless author who forgets to check over stuff! Please forgive me. If I forgot anyone else then please tell me because I'm an idiot.

To **eternalflamingdragon:** Computers are evil aren't they. Sorry I missed your review, but I'm really grateful that you like my story.

To **Elric329:** Here's your update. I was sick all week and school got in the way, so I couldn't get it up as soon as I hoped.

To **The Teenage Writer: **O.o You bit your roommate? Wow. You grovel at my feet? Of course you're worthy to read my story, who isn't? Yay for angst! –glomps back-

To **madamwolf: **I'm a great author? –sniff- Thank you so much! That makes me happy!

To **Prides Tears:** Yay! I have my own stalker! Wait… That's not very good is it? Ah well, I will try to update as much as I can.

To **Jen: **Heh, you can try and bet, but I'm not gonna tell you a thing xD

To **Hikari-Aoi: **Hughes will live on forever! You like RoyxEd too? Yay! GO ROYXED! –falls over-

To **Anan Koroku: **Don't hurt me!

To **hittocerebattosai: **I'll try my best.

To **Fullmetal Limbs: **Eep! Why do you all threaten me so –sniff- I ish scared.

To **HagarenFanGirl: **Ed's a cute little bean 3 He and Roy are made for each other. Poor Riza. I felt so bad for killing off Hayate, but I can't change what has been done.

To **sailorstar14: **I'm taking long to update now aren't I? Sorry TT –feels like such a bad person- I'll try to update faster.

To **Caelistes: **Lemon? Heh, I'd probably mess it up. Plus my dad reads this, so yeah… Anyways, I'll try to get some more fluff in for ya and I'll try to update faster.

To **roze: **You sound kinda sadistic when you say that, but aren't we all sadists, so it doesn't really matter xD Thanks for all the reviews.

To **tennis-tensai: **Yay! Another who loves RoyxEd! You rock! I will try to update faster, but my teachers aren't helping.

To **Not a Shorty: **Meh. I'm lazy, so I don't update as often as I should xD I'll try to be faster with my updates.

To **Yuna:** Hullo 3 I'm glad you like my story and your English is fine. Heh. I really need to update more often don't I?

To **CuriousDreamWeaver:** Yes, poor Black Hayate and poor Ed. I like to torture the characters xDDDDD

To **BestNGameHistory:** Heck, if you're just going to send me a review saying "OMG! ROYXED IS SO WRONG!" then you can go take your comment and shove it. I really am getting tired of getting reviews like this. If you hate the pairing then, WHY ARE YOU READING THIS? I clearly stated it was RoyxEd. If you're going to criticize me about something then do on something more pertinent like spelling or grammar. These types of reviews are really starting to tick me off. If I keep getting these then I'm just going to stop writing this story and not write again until some people grow up and gain some maturity. Whenever anyone tells me "for the love of all that means anything in the world, don't pair Ed with a guy", I think that you're a closed-minded dumbass who has nothing better to do with their life than flame people who write fics where Ed likes a guy, or I think that you're some crazed fan girl/boy who is insanely in love with Ed and can't stand the fact that another fictional character that just happens to be a guy is going out with him. You see that you wasted about five minutes of your life writing this to me. Was it worth it? Did you gain something? I'm not trying to be mean, but seriously, stop complaining about the pairing! I think I'm going to put the RoyxEd part in bold.

To **inuyashalover:** Thanks, but I suck at updating and how long has it been since I last updated? A month? I'm just really lazy, so I'll try harder at updating at least once a week.

Yay! I got 117 reviews! w00t! Thanks so much you guys! I really appreciate it. How long has it been since I last updated? A month ago? Well, here's Chapter 13 ((finally))

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, but I do own a little bit of Navarre, who owns Funimation, who makes the Full Metal Alchemist DVDs. If you add it up, I still don't own Full Metal Alchemist. I do own Seth, Lilith, Raith, and of course Siba who is currently locked up in a closet.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Thirteen – Torment

--

Birds twittered outside and sunlight streamed in through an open window, waking Ed out of his peaceful slumber. He cracked open one sleepy eye and glanced around. Groaning, Ed rolled over and scrunched his eyes shut. His head hurt, he felt disgusting, and all he wanted to do was sleep, but the sun seemed to be opposed to his last wish.

"Fine! I'll get up! Stupid sun," Ed grumbled as he groggily got out of bed and looked around. _This is definitely not my room,_ he thought has he finally started to process what he was seeing, _If this is not my room then where the hell am I?_ _Wait, I fell asleep at a table in Roy's kitchen, but how'd I get up here and more importantly where'd that Bastard Colonel go?_

Ed began to mutter angrily about tying the Colonel to a tree as he slipped on his boots and walked downstairs – apparently he'd fallen asleep in his clothes, thus no need to get dressed. The smell of something burning wafted through the air and made Ed sneeze. Figuring that if he found the source of the smell, he'd find Roy, Ed began to creep through the house. The smell steadily began to get stronger and stronger as Ed neared the kitchen and black smoke poured out of the doorway.

"What the hell are you doing Roy?" Ed asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"I'm making you breakfast," Roy said happily as he walked over to the small table located in the center of the room and put a plate down. Ed's jaw dropped when Roy turned so that his back was no longer facing forward. Behold! The great Flame Alchemist, womanizer extraordinaire, was wearing a frilly pink apron.

"Okay, seriously, what the hell?" Ed said as he stared at Roy new attire.

"What you don't like it?" Roy said as he spun around, flaunting his girly apron, a smile plastered to his face. Ed just shook his head in disappointment and sat down at the table, trying his best to ignore the apron.

"You're a disappointment to men everywhere," Ed muttered as he gazed at the food in front of him. Plates filled with eggs, pancakes, and every other breakfast item you could possibly think of covered the table; and each and every bit of this food was burnt to a crisp. "You really can't cook can you," Ed stated as he prodded a black blob that was probably an egg with his fork. After being prodded twice, the blob snapped in two and large chunk fell off.

"Well considering the fact that I've never cooked once in my life, this is pretty good first try," Roy said admiring the feast he had prepared. "Okay, I can't cook," he admitted when the chunk of burnt egg fell off onto the table, "And as for the apron. It was the only one they had left in the store and I can't go and get all my clothes dirty. I don't fell like washing them again."

Ed grunted in reply and stuck a bit of a pancake in his mouth. _This isn't half bad,_ he thought as he chewed and immediately regretted it. "Water!" he rasped out and began to cough. The blond teen rushed over to the sink and turned on the faucet. He quickly downed the water and his coughing ceased.

"Are you okay?" Roy asked as he poured some red liquid into a cup and then began to drink it.

"You put pepper in the pancakes!" Ed said as he spun around. His face immediately turned quite pale when he saw the red liquid in Roy's cup. "What the hell are you drinking?" he demanded, his voice shaking slightly.

"Tomato juice, want some?" Roy replied and then drank the last bit. "Is something the matter Fullmetal?" he asked when he saw how all the color had drained from Ed's face.

"Are you mocking me?" Ed demanded, trembling with rage. After last night, Ed decided that Roy wasn't as big of an asshole as he had thought, but once again the Colonel had proved him wrong.

"Whatever do you mean?" Roy asked in an innocent tone.

"I know very well that you know that I'm a vampire," Ed snapped and folded his arms across his chest.

"Sorry Ed, but I couldn't resist," Roy said and sat down at the table. Ed just glared daggers at him as the Colonel took a bite out of the "food" he had prepared. After a couple moments of thoughtful chewing, Roy began to cough uncontrollably. He darted towards the sink and drank as much water as he could. "You're right, my cooking sucks," Roy said when he finished drinking. He then walked back to his seat, Ed still glaring at him.

"You're an asshole," Ed stated in a monotone voice as he sat down opposite Roy. The Colonel shrugged in response.

"Edward," Roy began, his face becoming more serious, "Last night, you told me you were a vampire and from what I've read you need to drink blood every night to survive, or at least almost every night." Ed nodded sadly. Roy sighed and said, "I know you don't want to, but to keep something like what happened at the Grand Neko Hotel to happen again. The reason that happened was because you didn't drink any blood for a long period of time."

"But-" Ed said, but was silenced by Roy.

"No buts Edward. I understand that you think you're a monster, but I don't want anyone else to get hurt, especially you," Roy said sadly.

Ed immediately felt his cheeks heat up as a blush began to creep over them. "I'll be right back," he said quickly and darted out of the room.

_Why'd I get so worked up about that? Do I love Roy? Psh. As if. But if I don't love him then why do I feel so funny inside? I'll just forget this ever happened. Okay, good plan._

Ed tried to reassure himself that he didn't love Roy, but he knew deep down that he was only lying to himself. He took a deep breath and walked back into the kitchen and saw that Roy was busy cleaning up breakfast, which looked more like a science experiment gone awry.

"Ed, are you all right? You're a bit pale," Roy said when he saw Ed's face, which looked like all the color in it had been completely sucked out.

"It's probably just your shitty cooking 'cause my head hurts and your yelling isn't helping," Ed said while squinting, "And when the hell did it get so goddamn bright in here?"

"Ed, it's not really bright in here considering the fact that all the curtains are closed and I'm not yelling," Roy said as he pressed his hand to Ed's forehead. Ed's skin felt clammy and cold and it seemed as if the young alchemist would faint at any moment.

"I'm fine, so stop worrying," Ed said as he brushed Roy's hand away. "I feel perfectly fine," Ed repeated when he saw the who-are-you-trying-to-fool-with-that-crap look on Roy's face, "I mean it."

"Whatever you say," Roy said and shrugged. "Well, I guess we better get you back into your dorm room before someone realizes that you've been gone all night."

"Erm… Could I stay here in your house instead? The last thing I want is for someone at HQ to get hurt and then have everyone find out that I'm a vampire," Ed said as he looked up hopefully at Roy.

"I don't mind, but you're sleeping on the couch this time," Roy said and headed towards the front door. "Ed, let's go get your stuff from HQ!" the Colonel called out as he opened the front door.

"Wait! Dammit Roy!" Ed yelled angrily as he ran out after Roy.

--

Ed sighed as he and Roy walked down the street back towards Roy's house. He carried a large suitcase filled with clothes and other necessary items. It was probably almost 3 o'clock in the afternoon and the sun had been beating down upon them mercilessly for a while now.

"Are we almost there yet?" Ed whined, irritating Roy even more. They had somehow gotten lost on the way back and had been trying to find their way back for over an hour.

"Shut up Fullmetal!" Roy snapped as he looked around hoping to see anything that looked remotely familiar.

"You suck," Ed replied and crossed his arms across his chest. The blond sighed and looked up at the blue sky._ Why did all the clouds have to go?_ Ed thought sadly as he continued to walk. His head hurt and he was constantly shivering, not that anyone else could tell. His vision was also constantly fading, not to mention that he also had the feeling that someone was watching him.

"Ed?" Roy said when he saw that Ed had suddenly stopped, "Is something the matter?" The concerned Colonel took a couple of steps back towards Ed.

"It's nothing," Ed replied when he looked around and saw no one, "It's… nothing…" Ed's eyes then closed and he fell into Roy's open arms.

"Ed? Ed!" Roy cried out when Ed's collapsed in his arms.

Unbeknownst to Roy and everyone else that was currently wandering the streets, two cloaked figures sat atop a large brick building.

"Well, it seems that our little bat's blood has finally begun to act up. The full moon is drawing even nearer and then he will truly become one of us. Then we can finally use his powers to fulfill our own needs," Lilith murmured as she wrapped her cloak even tighter around her.

"It seems that we need to continue carefully nudging him until he falls over the edge," Raith said, unhappy to be out in broad daylight.

"That's why we constantly invade his dreams," Lilith said as she leaned her head against Raith's shoulder.

"It's quite fun," Raith said grinning evilly, silver fangs glinting in the sunlight, "I never realize how much fun it is to torment others."

"Though the Colonel finding out the truth wasn't initially part of our plans, it could prove to be quite useful," Lilith said and snuggled closer to her lover. "It's time to pay our little bat another visit."

--

"_Great, another one of these dreams," Ed muttered as he looked around only to find that he was in a poorly lit hallway. He could hear the soft pitter-patter of the rain droplets against the glass windows. Dim lamps that constantly flickered on and off lined the hallway's otherwise barren walls. The wooden floorboards creaked beneath Ed's weight as he began to walk down towards the large wooden door at the end of the hallway. He passed a couple of windows, but it was so dark outside that he couldn't see anything. _

_Soon Ed was standing in front of the door. He didn't know why, but something compelled him to take hold of the brass doorknob and open the door, so he did so. The wooden door creaked open and stepped inside the dark room._

_There was no light in the room and the door immediately slammed shut behind him. Making Ed's heart began to pound against his rib cage. The blond alchemist took two steps forwards and ended up tripping over something._

"_Ow," Ed groaned as he pulled himself back up. "Wait," he said suddenly, "If this is a dream then why did that hurt?"_

"_Because I wanted it to," said a familiar masculine voice. The lights then snapped on, filling the room with light. _

"_Raith," Ed said as he spun around to face the figure that constantly haunted his dreams._

"_Glad to see that you remember me," said the cloaked figure._

"_Don't tell me that you forgot about me?" said another familiar voice. This was belonged to girl though._

"_Lilith," Ed muttered when he turned his head to see her standing in a corner. She giggled and waved at him. "What do you want? Why can't you just leave me alone?"_

"_What we want? Well, we want you," Lilith said simply._

"_We can't leave you alone because we control your dreams," Raith added, "Plus we're curious to see how much of a monster you've become."_

"_Many people have already died by your hand and only more will die as long as you continue to live," Lilith added happily, "Why don't we show him what will happen in the future."_

"_What a wonderful idea," Raith said and snapped his fingers. As if on command, the room surrounding Ed shattered and all three of them were hovering above an endless abyss of darkness. "Now, who will be the next one to go?" Raith asked._

_Pictures of the corpses of many people flashed before Ed's eyes. Each one was covered in blood and stared at Ed with lifeless eyes. Suddenly the images stopped at one body. Ed's breath caught in throat because lying in front of him was the broken and battered body of Roy Mustang. Blood pooled around the Colonel's limp body and his dull black eyes starred back at Ed. There were large gashes across Roy's chest and his blue military uniform was soaked in blood, making it no longer blue, but an ugly dark red. More blood ran down the side of his forehead and two puncture marks were visible on the bruised flesh of his neck._

"_Stop it!" Ed cried out as he shut his eyes. He wanted to cry, but tears wouldn't come. "Make it stop! Stop! STOP DAMMIT!" Ed then felt himself start to fall into the darkness, Raith and Lilith's laughing echoing in his ears._

_ED! ED WAKE UP!_

--

"Roy?" Ed murmured when he opened his eyes to find Roy sitting at the side of the bed he was lying in.

"Ed, are you alright? You were crying in your sleep," Roy said softly.

"Roy, do you think that I'm a monster?" Ed asked in nothing more than a hoarse whisper. His throat was dry and it hurt to talk.

"Ed, why would I think that? You will always be the short-tempered shrimp that never passes up the chance to call me an asshole," Roy said.

"Thanks," Ed said happily as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep once more.

--

Whoo! Chapter 13 is done! Dance with me! Sorry that it took me like a month to update again. I'm a lazy bum and I'm proud of it! I have a bit of writer's block, so don't mind the crappiness of this chapter. Don't forget to review!

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter 14 – Fading Sanity


	14. Fading Sanity

Okay, I heard somewhere that we can't reply to our reviewers and I don't really want to get in trouble, so yeah. Don't forget that I still love you all even if you're ready to stab me to death because of the lack of updates. I have valid excuses this time, so yeah. I was sick for a week and a half and I had too much homework to finish off and I went on vacation for a week and had no access to any computers. Writer's block also played a good part in it. Okay, so here's Chapter 14!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own FMA, but I do own the other characters that have been put in. I won't list them because I'm just too lazy.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Fourteen – Fading Sanity

--

_Rain fell down from the gray sky as if it would never stop. It was if a dense blanket of rain droplets had covered the city. Thunder boomed softly overhead, obviously drowned out by the steady beat of the rain, and lightning flared up across the sky, obscured thanks to the clouds that were as thick as wool. Everyone except for one person had retreated to their dry and safe homes._

_Riza Hawkeye stood solemnly at the foot of a small grave. Her blond hair hung loosely around her face, several stray strands clung to her tear stained and rain soaked face. Tears continued to fall from her dull red eyes. She sighed and looked up at the sky, letting to rain fall down against her face._

"_It's raining, Black Hayate," she murmured._

--

Riza took a small sip of her now cold coffee. She sat at her kitchen table. The only source of light in the entire house was the small light bulb that hung above that table. There were dark bags under her eyes and it seemed as if she hadn't slept in a very long time. Her face had been drained of all its color and her pink lips stood out considerably. Her once shiny blond hair that had always been kept up had lost all of its sheen and was almost completely tangled. She also looked like she hadn't eaten much for a long time. Riza Hawkeye was a mess.

The 1st Lieutenant gazed at all the papers scattered across the table. Pictures of people and lots of text were printed out on each of these documents. Riza had gotten most of them from Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. On the night that Colonel Roy Mustang had brought the lifeless body of Black Hayate, her closest friend, home, she had sworn that she would find whoever killed him.

"I made a promise and I'm not one who breaks promises," Riza said to herself, her voice was hoarse and cracked slightly when she spoke. Memories of the past days came rushing back to her.

--

_It was almost eleven o'clock and Riza was getting ready to go to bed. A soft drizzle fell down outside. Just when she was about to turn off all the lights and go upstairs to change she heard a loud knock at her door._

_Who would be knocking this late? she thought to herself as she walked towards the door and opened it only to find Roy standing there, a small white bundle in his arms._

_What happened afterwards was one of the most horrible moments in her life._

"_Riza, I found Black Hayate on the side of the road on my way home. I hurried here as fast as I could," Roy began and pulled back some of the white cloth to reveal Black Hayate's lifeless form, "I think he was hit by a car. I'm sorry that I wasn't there in time to save him."_

_Riza's breath caught in her throat and tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. She tried to suppress them. She would never let herself cry in the company of the Colonel. "No…" she whispered, her body shaking slightly. Riza took a deep breath and took the bundle that was her dead companion from Roy and muttered a small almost inaudible thank you. She heard the Colonel apologize once more as she shut the door._

_Cradling Black Hayate in her trembling arms, Riza sunk down to the floor, her back resting against the door. Blinded by tears Riza hugged her friend's cold body and let herself cry._

_I promise that I'll find whoever is responsible for your death and make them pay, Riza thought angrily as she wiped her tears away, her lips pressed together in anger._

_--_

_The sun shone brightly and children happily ran down the streets, their parents quickly following behind them. Riza gazed mournfully at them as she walked by. She wished that the event that occurred the previous night would erase itself from the world. She wished that it was just a dream, but sadly it wasn't, the small white bundle that she carried in her arms was real._

_Riza Hawkeye held the white bundle closer to her chest as she turned the corner and entered the vet's office. It was rather quiet in the sterile white building that day. Two people, an old man that had many wrinkles and a short brown-haired woman that had a snobbish air about her, sat in the waiting room their dogs. Riza walked over to the nurse who sat at the main desk._

"_Excuse me, but I'd like to see Dr. Smith please," Riza asked softly. The receptionist nodded and told her that the doctor would be with her momentarily. Riza thanked her and sat down in one of the red plastic chairs that lined the pale orange walls of the waiting room._

_Thirty minutes passed and both the old man and the snobbish woman had disappeared behind the glass doors with their dogs. Riza was left all alone, her arms tightly wrapped around Black Hayate. Suddenly she felt someone touch her shoulder gently. Riza looked up to see a plump cheerful nurse standing next to her._

"_Dr. Smith is ready to see you," the nurse said and led Riza to one of the examination rooms. The doctor sat in one of the chairs, reading over some paper work._

"_Thank you Isabelle," Dr. Smith said and the nurse gave a small bow and excused herself. The doctor was a man who appeared to be in his late 50s. His black hair was streaked with gray and his blue eyes had a kind and gentle look in them. His face was creased with wrinkles, but his face was smooth._

"_Good morning," Riza said to the doctor, her voice flat and tinged with a sad melancholy tone._

"_What's wrong Riza, you seem sad today. Has something happened?" the doctor asked._

_Riza nodded sadly and showed Black Hayate to the doctor, who let out a small "Oh" and took the bundle from Riza's arms and place him on a small examination table._

"_Could you please tell me how he died?" Riza asked as she tried to hold back her tears. The doctor gave a small nod and began to examine Black Hayate._

_After for what seemed like forever to Riza the doctor finished._

"_Well, it's quite strange actually," he began," There are no fatal visible injuries or internal injuries, but there are two puncture marks on the side of his neck and it seems that his body has been almost completely drained of all its blood. Quite strange actually, but I think that he must've gotten cut by something sharp and bled to death. When you found him was he covered in blood at all?"_

_Riza shook her head and doubted that Roy had seen any since he said that he had come to her house as fast as he could._

"_This gets stranger and stranger. I'm afraid that I can't give you an exact answer," he said sadly. Riza thanked him and left Black Hayate's body cradled in her arms once more._

--

Taking another sip of her coffee, Riza continued to look through all the papers she had accumulated, trying not to think about those memories. Most of them described the incident that occurred not too long ago at the Grand Neko Hotel. She had already read through those and was now concentrating on a file about a specific person. That person? Edward Elric, the Full Metal Alchemist.

"Hmmm…" Riza said as she glanced over his file. There was nothing on it that she didn't already know. She sighed and put his file back down.

_He was one of the only people in the Grand Neko when all those people were murdered and they all had those same puncture marks and were completely drained of all their blood, just like Black Hayate, _Riza thought as she started to go back through her memories once more.

--

_Riza was walking down the hallway. She had just finished threatening the Colonel and he was hopefully doing the gigantic mounds of paperwork that had accumulated on his desk these past weeks and needed to take a short break. Two pairs of footsteps echoed down the hall, hers and someone else who was coming from the opposite direction. Riza rounded a corner and walked smack dab into Ed, knocking him to the floor._

"_Sorry," he mumbled as he sat there on the ground, obviously not happy about something._

"_It's alright, but please try to watch where you're going next time," she said as she helped him up. Just as Ed pulled himself up, she caught a slight glimpse of two puncture marks on his neck. "Ed, where'd that wound come from?" she asked, concerned about the blond alchemist._

_A startled expression crossed Ed's face as he broke into a run._

--

"Those puncture marks were the same as those on Black Hayate's neck, but why isn't Ed dead?" Riza said in a whisper, "Is he the one who did this? Or is he just a lucky victim? Either way, it would be useful to get as much information as I can from him. He may be able to help me after all."

--

Oooh, scary Riza. What's going to happen to our favorite blond alchemist? Well, you'll have to wait till I update again, which will be soon! I promise! Wait… That's what I said last time. Well, I'll update when I can. If you want to give me any ideas or suggestions then feel free to e-mail me. I have a pretty good idea where this story is going. I'm just debating with the ending, anyways; don't forget to send me reviews! They are what keep me writing! I'm sorry that this chapter is so short.

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Fifteen – Spinning Out of Control


	15. Spinning Out of Control

Phew. I am so tired. School has been a large pain in the butt this past week, but now I have vacation! Glorious vacation! This means that I can finally update! Let's dance! Well, before I begin the chapter. I have to say that I absolutely adore everyone who has taken some time out of their day to read this heap of words that I call a story and I worship everyone who has reviewed! I love you all so much! I send you many hugs across the Internet! I have also found this awesome little button that lets me reply to reviews if the person who reviewed has an account, so I'll use this wondrous thing and reply to you guys.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own FMA and never will. I do own all the character that my insane mind has created.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Fifteen – Spinning Out of Control

--

"Ed, time to get up," Roy whispered in the blond alchemist's ear, receiving only a muffled grunt in response.

It was morning and the sun shone brightly outside. Birds twittered and chirped as the flew from tree to tree and a cool breeze blew in through the open bedroom window, making Roy shiver slightly whilst Ed lay unperturbed beneath a mountain of fluffy covers that he had stolen from Roy the night before.

Roy sighed and prodded the human shrimp. "Get up," he said again, a bit louder this time. Ed rolled over, ignoring Roy completely. The Colonel twitched slightly, a vein throbbing in his forehead. He was starting to get quite irritated because he had been trying to wake Ed up for the past half hour.

"Get up!" the Flame Alchemist said angrily and pulled off all the covers that covered Ed's body. An automail fist then promptly collided with Roy's face knocking him back and the owner of that fist snuggled back under the covers.

"Go away," Ed said sleepily as he curled into a ball, pulling the covers even tighter around him. He was tired. He was really tired and he had no idea why. Plus his upper back was aching. It wasn't a terrible pain, just a dull ache. His head also hurt and he had the same nauseated feeling in his stomach again.

Roy picked himself up off the floor, rubbing his cheek where Ed had punched him. "Ed, you leave me no choice," he said as he rolled up the sleeves on his military uniform, "I will not be late for work and then shot at by Hawkeye for being late because of you wanting to sleep. You do have work to do too." The Colonel then picked Ed, who immediately began to thrash around, up and carried him to the bathroom.

"Lemme go," Ed muttered weakly, as he half-heartedly smacked his fists against Roy's back. Roy shook his head and laughed rather evilly in response. The older man then open the shower door and shoved Ed inside. Ed then realized what was going to happen and his eyes widened. "No," he said as an angry expression crossed his face, "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh yes I would," Roy said rather cheerfully as he reached in and turned the shower knob. A spray of icy cold water immediately began to rain down on Ed, soaking him thoroughly. Realizing that he was now in great danger, Roy quickly shut the glass shower door just in time to stop Ed's automail fist from colliding with his cheek again. It did leave a mighty big crack though. "You'll be paying for that door Ed!" Roy called out as he began sprinting away.

"You bastard! Get back here!" Ed yelled angrily as he literally smashed through the shower door, reducing it to many fragments of glass. He then began to chase after Roy, who had decided it would be best to get out of the house as quickly as possible. He was sure that Ed wouldn't come out after him when he was soaking wet and only wearing a pair of boxers; he thought wrong.

Ed chased Roy all the way through Central towards HQ and through the hallways towards Roy's office. "Get back here!" Ed yelled and then let out a slew of curses, calling Roy every name under the sun. A little farther down the hall Havoc and Fury were exchanging some important documents.

"Okay, so get these to Roy as soon as you can," Fury said as he gave a large stack of papers to Havoc, "They're very very important, so don't lose them." He added emphasis on the words 'very' and 'don't'.

"Okay, okay," Havoc said as he took the papers, "Don't worry I won't lose them."

"Good morning!" Roy said as he ran past the two, giving them a small wave and a smile.

"Bastard Colonel!" Ed said angrily as he sprinted after Roy, ignoring Havoc and Fury completely. Both their jaws dropped open when they saw Ed fly past them wearing only his boxers. Havoc's cigarette, however, managed to miraculously stay in his mouth, but the papers he was holding fell to the floor.

"Did you just see what I think I saw?" Fury asked, his voice slightly shaky.

"If you just saw Ed run after Roy in his boxers, then yeah, I saw it too," Havoc replied.

--

Roy quickly spun around to shut the door to his office, but it was too late, Ed had already pounced through the door and pinned Roy to the ground. "I told you I'd get you," Ed said as he gasped for breath. Roy was breathing was hard too from all the running.

"Sir, I just got some papers from-," Riza stopped short as she looked up from the papers she was holding to see Roy pinned beneath Ed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt something. I-I'll come back later."

"No it's alright, I was just leaving," Ed said as he walked out of the room with quite a lot of dignity if you considered the situation he was in. Riza blinked at him a couple of times and turned back to Roy when the blond alchemist slammed the door shut.

"Sir, about these papers," Riza began as she held out the papers to Roy, who straightened his collar and took them.

"More deaths?" he whispered more to himself than to Hawkeye as he scanned the first paper.

"Yes, about seven in total," Riza replied, her voice tinged with sadness when she remembered Black Hayate.

Roy sighed and sat at his desk. "You may go now," he said and began to look over the papers in detail. Riza saluted him and walked out without another word.

--

"So Ed, tell me why you were chasing Roy this morning in your boxers?" Hughes asked as he pinned up some of the cloth on the military uniform Ed had to borrow from Havoc, who kept an extra pair with him for some reason. It was out of the question for Ed to go walking around in his boxers all day. The clothes were too big for Ed, so Hughes had offered to pin it up so that the cloth wouldn't get in Ed's way.

"I was trying to punch him for waking me up and spraying me with cold water this morning," Ed said simply.

"Are you sure? Or was it that you just wanted to make out with him? I heard that Hawkeye found you pinning Roy to the ground?" Hughes said in the same voice he uses when he talks about his daughter. Ed shot him a death glare that meant 'get the hell away from me before I find a good enough reason to kill you'. "I'll be leaving now!" Hughes said quickly as he dashed out of the room, leaving Ed alone.

Ed sighed as he went to stand in front of the mirror that sat in the corner of the old meeting room. No one ever used this room anymore. The white paint on the walls were starting to peel off and the carpet was ratty and worn out. There were two rather large windows in the room. One on the far end and one right next to the mirror.

"Still no reflection," he said in a melancholy tone. The empty mirror gazed back at him as if it had no idea that Ed was there. A sudden knock at the door pulled Ed away from his sad thoughts.

"Edward? May I come in?" a voice that most probably belonged to Riza Hawkeye said from outside the door.

"Sure," Ed called back and the door opened as Riza stepped inside. Shutting the door behind her, she looked at Ed. "I heard about Black Hayate," Ed began, "I'm very sorry that that happened."

"Yes, about that," Riza began as she stared at Edward, "I was wondering if you knew anything about that." She took in a sharp breath when she noticed that Ed had no reflection, but tried to make it look like she hadn't noticed. _He may be the one who killed Black Hayate after all. He doesn't have a reflection and I saw the bite marks on his neck. He was also the one who we found covered in blood at that hotel. This all adds up to one thing, Ed is a vampire, _Riza thought as she began to analyze everything. All the research she had done was finally starting to pay off.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about it except that Roy told me that he found Black Hayate lying in the street," Ed said as he shifted uncomfortably.

"Ed, Black Hayate wasn't hit by a car," Hawkeye began as she moved her hand towards her gun holster, "He was murdered. Murdered by a vampire." She pulled out her gun, aiming it directly at Ed. "Did you kill him?" she asked, her voice cold and emotionless.

"I-," Ed began, but was cut off by the sound of Riza's gun letting lose a bullet. He quickly jumped out of the way, narrowly missing the bullet.

"Save your excuses," She spat, "I don't want to hear them. A monster deserves no time to explain himself." She then fired two more bullets, which Ed narrowly dogged again.

"Riza! Stop!" Ed pleaded, but the angry Lieutenant didn't listen to him and fired some more bullets.

"You're a monster!" Riza cried angrily as hot tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"Don't call me that!" Ed said as he clamped both of his hands over his ears, trying to block out the retched word that continued to ring in his ears.

Monster… 

_Monster…_

_Monster!_

_MONSTER!_

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Ed repeated over and over as he shut his eyes, trying to shut everything out. "SHUT UP!" Ed's eyes snapped open, no longer the calm gold that they usually were, but an angry crimson. His fangs grew even more, making them protrude from beneath his upper lip and his skin became a deathly pale color. The nails on his left hand grew sharper until they were able to cut through muscle as if it were melted butter. His blond hair hung loosely around him, obscuring the right half of his face. In a shower of hot blood, two large black bat wings grew out of his back. The pain that would've sent any man spiraling to the floor in agony was nothing more that a dull ache to Ed. The uniform that Ed had borrowed was flecked with large spots of crimson and blood trailed down his back.

Riza's eyes widened in fear and his entire body began to shake. She lost all feeling in her body all the warmth she had felt moments before had deserted her. She was afraid. No. She was terrified. Standing before her was what looked like a demon that had just sprung up out of hell.

Ed smashed his fist again one of the windows behind him, reducing it into minuscule fragments of glass. He took one step forward, his rage filled eyes boring into Riza's, wings stretched out. He continued to walk towards Riza until he was only a couple of inches away from her. Pulling back one arm, Ed swatted Riza effortlessly aside, knocking her into the wall. The last thing Riza saw before his vision blackened was Ed slowly walking towards her.

_Stop… I need to stop… _Ed thought as he looked down at Riza's limp body. _Stop._ He commanded his body, but it was as if he no longer had control over himself. _I don't want to hurt her._

_Stop._

_Stop!_

_STOP! I WANT TO STOP!_

Ed's mental screaming must've gotten to his body somehow because he felt the darkness begin to overtake him and his vision began to swim in and out of focus. Edward could've sworn that the last thing he saw before he became completely unconscious was Roy rushing toward him.

--

Whoo! I'm done. It's now 6:54 on Monday morning. I have school later and I really should be getting ready, but it doesn't matter. I'm so glad I got this finished! I didn't want to go a whole other month without updating again, so yeah. I'll try my best to update this weekend too.

--

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Sixteen - Intoxicated


	16. Intoxicated

Hello everyone! I am still alive! Yes, I know, hard to believe isn't it? Well, the reason it has taken me so long to update is because I was on vacation and stupid FF wouldn't let me update while they fixed up some problems, which was pretty much the entire month of December. Bleh. No matter, I am back with a new chapter. I can't believe how many reviews I have. Woah. The number is almost at 200. I love you all. Oh! And for the record, I'm a girl.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own FMA and never will, so lay off.

The first part of this chapter is in Roy's point of view by the way. The second is in Ed's and the third is in Riza's. It then goes back to Roy's at the end.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Sixteen – Intoxicated

--

I've been sitting in the same place on my couch for almost three hours now. It's long past midnight, but I'm not even tired. I'm too worried about Ed and Riza to go to sleep. They kicked me out of the hospital before I could see any one of them. The nurse told me that their conditions weren't stable enough to allow visitors. Guess that I have to sit around and wait some more.

Perturbed is probably the best way to describe the way I'm feeling right now. I found it while reading the dictionary. This is sad. I've been reading a dictionary to pull my mind away from Ed and Riza. I did try and go sleep I'll have you know, but I can't. Every time I feel myself begin to drift off, the image of Ed in that form flashes back in front of my eyes, making me sit up in my bed shaking. I tried taking in some sleeping pills, but they don't make any difference. I need coffee. Yes. Coffee always helps calm me down.

I finally get up of the couch, the same couch I'd been sleeping on while Ed took my bed. He's lucky that I love him or he'd be the one sleeping on the couch. Hold on, did I just say that I loved Ed? Wow. Those pills and lack of sleep must be screwing with my brain. Now, what was I doing? Oh yeah, coffee. I was going to make coffee; coffee that I need very badly. I walk towards the kitchen, my feet dragging, body hunched over slightly.

My reflection in the mirror suddenly catches my attention. I look terrible. My hair is a mess, I look slightly paler than usual I guess, and I can already see dark bags beginning to form under my eyes. To sum it up, I look like I hadn't left my house in about three weeks and my house was deprived of any mirror-like objects, but compared to Riza and Ed, I'm Mr. Beauty King. I take a deep breath as if to calm myself and finally walk in through the kitchen doorway. It seems like Ed and I were here eating breakfast only a couple of hours ago. I have to say that my cooking skills need some improvement. I then remember the horrible coughing fit I had after one bite.Some? Make that a lot of improvement.

Now, for the coffee. I open the one of the cream-colored cabinets that I know oh so well, and pull out my favorite blend, all crushed up and ready to be made into coffee. I dump two spoonfuls into the coffee machine and add water; I'm too tired to measure it out. I turn it on and wait. I wait and wait, and yet no coffee is produced. Stupid machine. Breaking on me when I need it the most. Someone up there must really hate me. I sigh and give the infernal machine a long cold glare. I can't believe I'm showing my anger to an inanimate object. Oh damn. Is that the plug lying there on the counter? It is. I seriously need that coffee. Now, let's try this coffee making one more time. I plug the machine in and turn it on just like before. A couple drops of the magical brown liquid drip down into my white mug. I jump up and give a cry of joy. Whoo! The coffee machine is working. I wait some more and my mug is now filled with coffee. I turn off the machine and drink my coffee, adding more sugar than usual just in case it doesn't perk me up. I drink my coffee in silence. No Ed stomping around, yelling at something or someone, who is usually me. Before I know it, I have finished off three cups of coffee and there's no more left. I drop my mug in the sink, making a promise to myself that I'll clean it up later.

I plop right back down on the couch, feeling slightly better. Coffee sure does wonders. It's almost like a better tasting anti-depressant pill. What am I talking about? I'm not depressed. I just am having problems sleeping because the person that I love got in a fight with a friend and both are in critical conditions at the hospital, not to mention that that person is a guy. Wait! I'm Roy Mustang! I like women! Preferably women in short miniskirts. I wonder if Ed would look good in one. Gah! Stupid brain, thinking stuff like that. I need to stop thinking.

I'm getting a headache. It's been there all day, but only as a dull ache, not really a bother to anyone. Now it's like somebody is using a gigantic mallet to break through my skull. I need some of that glorious headache suppressant. Look at the way I'm talking! Reading a dictionary is not good for the sexy surprisingly still single male colonel who likes women, not men, especially boys who have anger management issues, although he is kinda cute when he gets mad. I give up! I stomp up the stairs, furious with myself for thinking stuff like that. This little action of mine just makes my headache worse. I'm a dumbass.

I open my medicine cabinet and pull out a small bottle filled with those headache-reducing pills that will hopefully make me feel better. I pop two of those white pills in my mouth and quickly swallow them down with a mouthful of water. Maybe a nice bath will help. I turn on the water and wait for the tub to fill up. After stopping the flow of water, I strip down and sit in the tub. The water is a bit too hot, but I like it. My eyes start to hurt, so I decide to close them. I'm only resting my eyes, I tell myself this, but little did I know that I would fall asleep naked in a bathtub. Great.

The bath water was cold, and I mean cold, when I woke up the next morning. My skin was all pruned and nasty. I feel like I'm an old grandpa. I get out of the tub, drain the water, and dry off. I walk into my room, the room that Ed had been sleeping in, and move towards my closet. I glance at the bed. The sheets are neatly pulled up. No one had slept there. I tear my eyes away and open the closet. I start to debate on what to wear, uniform or street clothes? Screw work. There's no way in hell I'm going to parade around the city in the military uniform when I'm not even going to work. I settle for a pair of gray pants and a white long-sleeved blouse. Why the hell am I even bothering to think about this? Who the hell cares? I could just as well pull something out of the closet and hope that it doesn't clash, not that anything in my closet could possibly clash. My wardrobe is a bit plain. Grays, blacks, whites, maybe a blue or green thrown in, that pretty much sums it up.

Breakfast? No. Not hungry. Coffee? No. Too lazy to make it. Umbrella? Yes, it's raining, but I can't find the damn thing. A string of curses come out. I think Ed is rubbing off on me. Instead of protecting myself from certain wetness by finding another umbrella, I pull on a raincoat, which is probably the most repulsive thing in history. There goes the dictionary again, or maybe it was the thesaurus. Who cares? A maroon heap of fabric that had been stitched together so that it sort of resembled a coat was what that thing was. It looked ratty, useless, and above all, ugly. I sound like some fashion maniac don't I? I'm seriously not exaggerating about this thing! I don't even remember who gave it to me or if I even bought it.

Thunder booms outside. Great. I open the door and step outside. The rain is coming down in great sheets. It's times like these when I really wish I had my own car.

--

I wake up, but I can't see. Something is covering my eyes. My back hurts, my leg hurts, my arm hurts, my hand hurts, my pinky hurts, wait, scratch all that. Everything hurts! I try to sit up, but something gently pushes me back down. I reach up to pull off whatever is blocking my vision, but the same thing stops me, putting my arm back down.

"Stay still, Ed," a familiar voice says softly, "Your badly injured and you don't want to hurt yourself even more."

I open my mouth to protest that I felt fine, which is a complete and total lie by the way, but a coughing fit stops me.

"See," the voice says again, "I told you to stop moving."

"God dammit! Let me sit up, Roy! And take this goddamn thing off my eyes! I can't see with it on!" I said, growing more irritated every second. I was rather shocked to hear how hoarse I sounded. My yells had become only loud whispers.

"Roy?" the voice asked, which was definitely not Roy's, "I'm sorry, but you must have me mistaken for someone else. My name's Isabelle and I work as a nurse here at the hospital."

"Hospital?" I ask, completely confused and a bit angry. Goddamn, why this place again? I sigh angrily and shift around in what I suppose was a hospital bed.

"Yes, you were admitted yesterday after you were attacked," she replies. I hear scribbling noises. She must be writing something down. I was attacked? Yesterday is a blur. I search for the memory, but I can't find it. I must've locked it away somewhere.

"Can you please take off whatever is covering my eyes?" I ask.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that," Isabelle replies, "Your eyes are still healing."

"What do you mean healing?" I ask. What the hell is going on? The nurse seems reluctant to answer my question. I ask again. She sighs and tells me.

"When you were attacked, your eyes were badly damaged. You will most likely never be able to see again. There were also large gashes on your back right where your shoulder blades are. This is why I cannot allow you to sit up or remove the bandages."

Blind? Did I just hear her correctly? That's BS. There's no way in hell that I can be blind. I reach up again to pull off the bandages, but different hand stops me. I try to pull my wrist out of its grasp, but the hand is strong, stronger than me.

"She told you to stop, so stop," another voice says. The owner of this voice is someone I know all too well, the man, who I think I'm in love with, or is it a crush? Why the hell am I thinking this now? I just found out that I'm blind and that I have two big gashes on my back.

"Roy?" I ask, relaxing my arm. He lets go of my wrist and my arm falls back down at my side.

"Yes," he replies. There's a pause. "So, how're you feeling?" Another pause. I don't know what to say. I can't believe that he just asked how I'm feeling. No short jokes thrown in, no false feelings, no sarcasm. Am I still dreaming? I bet they gave me some kind of painkiller that makes you have crazy dreams. Ah well, if this is a dream, might as well enjoy it.

"Let's see, I just found out that I'm blind, my body hurts like I went through hell and back again, but considering all that I'm doing just fine."

"That was a stupid question wasn't it?" he asks. I nod in reply. No shit Sherlock. Of course that was a stupid question. We sit in silence. During that time I finally have come to terms with my feelings for Roy and decided that it would be stupid to ignore them because I might say it to him in real life, which would be bad, so I might as well say it now and maybe the rejection in this dream will stop those feelings once and for all. I'm such a genius. I open my mouth to declare my feelings, but the door suddenly bursts open and someone walks into the room.

"I'm here to change Ed's bandages." Oh! It's the nurse. Why did she have to stop me? I was on a roll here, now I'm going to have to wait. Damn. I hear Roy walk out the door, shutting it behind him. I feel her hands undo the bandage covering my eyes, letting it slowly fall off. I open my eyes. I blink a couple of times. I can't believe what's happening.

"You said that I would be blind the rest of my life, right?" I ask the nurse.

"Yes," she replies. I nod and blink a couple more times.

"I don' t think my eyes agree with that because I can see perfectly fine," I blink a couple more times, finally registering the fact that everything was gray. "Holy shit! I'm colorblind!"

Isabelle looks at me, her eyes filled with doubt. "Look at me, Ed. How many fingers and I holding up?" she asks, holding up three. I reply with the correct answer and her jaw drops. She repeats this many times and I reply with the right answer each time. She suddenly moves her face close to mine. "The scars are gone," she whispers, "They've completely vanished! Could you lean forward a bit?" I do ask she asks and this is when I realize that I'm only wearing my white boxers. God, why can't hospitals let you wear any clothes? She quickly unwraps the bandages covering my upper back. I hear a loud thump and turn my head to find that the nurse has fainted.

"Ed?" Roy asks when he opens the door, staring down at the fallen nurse.

"What? I didn't do it," I say innocently. There's soon a crowd of people in the room, surrounding the fallen nurse. I sigh and scratch my back. It really itches. The crowd of people soon leave and I'm alone with Roy once more. He sits by my bed, staring at me. "Roy, what happened yesterday? I remember Riza walking into the room, but everything is blank after that." Roy's expression changes. He looks, well, he looks sad, almost depressed one could say.

"Let's just say that you and Riza got into a fight about your condition," Roy says.

"You mean, she found out that Black Hayate died because of me? She hates me now. She hates me so much that she tried to kill me, but…" I trail off. My eyes suddenly widen when I realize something. "I didn't kill her did? Please tell me that I didn't!"

"Don't worry," Roy said, "She's safe. The doctors say that she'll be fine." I let out a sigh of relief. I'm a danger to myself and everyone around me. Why am I getting so worked up about this? It's only a dream. For all I know, the reason that I can't remember something is that it hasn't happened yet. I'm probably sleeping in Roy's bed. We sit in silence again.

"Roy, there's been something I've wanted to tell you," I say, my cheeks heating up. Goddamn! Why am I taking this so seriously? I can't believe I'm blushing! I'm blushing in a dream! This is so unbelievably sad. I'm blushing in a dream! Damn! I turn to look at him only to find that he's staring at me, waiting for what I'm going to say.

"Ed? Why is your face red? Are you getting a fever?" he asks putting one hand on my forehead. My blush deepens. How do I know this? Because my face feels like it's burning off! I swat his hand away.

"I'm fine," I say as I take in a deep breath. "Roy, I-I l-l-l-lo-lo." I can't say it! Why can't I say those three words? I love you! Simple as that! Now, let me try this again. I try to say it, but I continue to stutter. I take in another deep breath and start again. Just as I was about to finish, the door slams open and the nurse walks in. Goddamn her! I was so close! Now I start spouting off random nonsense in my head. This dream sucks ass.

"Riza Hawkeye has just slipped into a coma." Roy immediately springs up and pushes past the nurse, who follows him, leaving me Roy-less again.

Yeah, this dream really sucks ass.

--

I just lay here in the darkness. I don't know why I'm here, but I feel tired and my body feels like a ton of bricks. Wait. Where's Ed? I have to kill him! I have to get revenge for Black Hayate! I try to move, but my body is rooted to the spot. I guess I still have time. Someone is calling my name telling me to wake up, but I'm not asleep. I look to the side and I see Ed standing there, his golden eyes staring into mine. He doesn't blink. I open my mouth to yell curses at him, but no sound comes out. Ed smirks and he begins to go through that horrible transformation once more. The black wings return and his eyes turn crimson, glowing in the darkness. His fangs become even longer and his nails sharpen and grow. He stands there, staring at me, not making any move towards me. There's someone standing behind him.

I squint trying to see who it is. My eyes widen and my jaw drops when I see who it is. There, standing behind Ed is Roy, holding Black Hayate's body.

--

I sit at Riza's bedside. Wires and tubes and connected to her body, monitoring everything happening inside her body. Her expression is calm and relaxed. She continues to breath thanks to the steady flow of oxygen inside the mask that covers her nose and mouth. I sigh.

"This just makes things more complicated," I whisper.

--

Phew. I'm finally done. I just want to say that I really sorry for taking so long to update. I was so good at updating in the beginning, but then I got a bit lazy. Thank you all for reviewing this story even though I cringe when I read it. Please forgive my typos. I do read over my work, but I don't catch all of them. Maybe I'll go back and fix them when this is finished. Sorry if all the characters are starting to get very OOC at this point. I'm trying my best. Don't forget to review! I love reviews! So, remember that.

--

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Seventeen – White


	17. White

Oh dear. I updated this story over two weeks ago! I'm a terrible person aren't I. Well, guess what, I now have my own updating schedule that I'm to try and stick to. This is my Chinese New Year's resolution. Yes. Crimson Sin will be updated once on each weekend and it might be updated more than once depending on how much of my creative juices are flowing. Yes. I've been overworked at school. Three projects. Five tests. Yes. Too much work. Anyways, I love all those who reviewed because your support makes me happy, which is good! Now, on with the story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own FMA. End of story.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Seventeen – White

--

Ed let out a groan as he rolled over in the hospital bed. Light was pouring in through the open window and it was irritating him. He cracked open one eye, but immediately shut it when the sun's rays were too strong for his sensitive vision. It was late in the morning, but he was still unbelievably tired. A frown found its way onto his face when he realized that he had fallen asleep before he could see Roy again.

He tried to fall asleep, but the constant chirping outside kept him awake. Ed slowly opened his eyes once, letting his vision adjust to the harsh rays outside. They widened when he saw the absence of colors, but then remembered that he was now colorblind. The room was small and the whitewashed walls and the white floor smelled of chemicals. His bed was pressed up against the wall, but there was enough room for him to get out on either side.

Bored with sitting around, the blond teen swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. His legs shook slightly beneath his weight and his knees buckled at first, causing him to fall to the floor. Cursing softly, he got up once more, using the bed for support. He looked down at himself and noticed that he was wearing a pair of pajamas that were way to big for him. The white pants hung loosely around his waist and formed a nice clump on the floor around each foot and the shirt had a tendency to leave one shoulder exposed, but kept both of his hands completely covered. Muttering to himself, Ed held his pants up with one hand while the other stuck to the wall, steadying the teen. He then slowly made his way out of his room and into the hallway.

The long corridors were already full of life. Nurses and doctors scurried past Ed, some snickering slightly when they saw how large the clothes were on him. Ed shot them angry glares in return, causing their laughter to immediately cease. The short alchemist slowly walked down the corridor, his steps jerky and his hand constantly relying on the wall for aid. He rounded and corner and found himself staring at the room belonging to the person who probably hated him now more than ever.

"Riza," Ed breathed, a wave of sadness crossing his face. His expression softened and he took in a deep breath. The teen cautiously peered into the room. What he saw caused his golden eyes to widen considerably.

Riza Hawkeye was fast asleep on her bed, her arms resting peacefully by her side. He face was no longer contorted with the rage that Ed had seen before. Wires were connected to her body, monitoring everything that was happening inside. The steady peeping of the heart monitor and the steady fwish of oxygen traveling into Riza's lungs were all that Ed heard. He stared at the adult's unmoving body, hating himself for causing her to end up like this.

A strong hand suddenly rested on Ed's shoulder, causing the blond to quickly spin around, ready to attack whoever had snuck up behind him. He was about to throw a punch when he froze.

"Mr. Edward Elric. I'd like it if you came with me. My associates and I have a few questions to ask you."

--

Roy ambled down the street, his black hair a mess from the wind. He let out a yawn and rubbed the sleep away from his eyes. Last night had been another nearly sleepless one. The raven-haired man had eventually fallen asleep around six o'clock in the morning, resulting in less than the usual eight hours of sleep he managed to get. He was once again on his way to the hospital, which had become the place where he spent the majority of his time. He let out another yawn and walked up the steps and into the hospital.

"Good morning," he said to the receptionist and began to make his way towards Ed's room. He was suddenly stopped by a flustered nurse, whose arms were laden with medicines and other medical supplies. Her brown curls clung to her red face and her blue eyes were focused on the supplies she carried. "Yes?" he asked, obviously surprised by this action.

"You're looking for Mr. Elric, correct?" she asked, taking in a couple of deep breaths when she finished.

"Yes, and I really must see him, so excuse me," Roy replied and began to walk around the nurse, but she once again blocked off his path.

"You can't do that!" she exclaimed.

"Why not?" the Colonel replied, growing slightly irritated with this woman.

"Because Mr. Elric is no longer a patient here. He was picked up by another man, who was from the government, earlier this morning," the nurse quickly said.

"What?" Roy asked, his tone a mixture of anger, irritation, and worry. The nurse jumped slightly in surprise, causing some tubes of ointment to fall onto the floor. "Which way did he go?" the Colonel asked, handing the fallen tubes to the nurse.

"He said something about questioning, but that's all I heard," she said, thanking Roy as she took the tubes from his open hand.

Roy muttered and inaudible string of curses before dashing out of the building, leaving the nurse behind, a puzzled look on her face.

_Dammit Ed! Can't you stay out of trouble for longer than twenty-four hours?_

--

Ed shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He was still wearing the pajamas, the man had just grabbed him and hauled him off to this place, giving him no time to say anything or change clothes. So there he was, sitting in an uncomfortable chair across from the same man, separated by a table, in a small cramped room that smelled of mold and dust. The floors were made of concrete and the floors were as well. Both were completely bare except for thick layers of dirt and dust.

"Okay, now that you've taken me out of a hospital without my consent and locked me up in a dirty room, could you please tell me who the hell you are?" Ed asked, rubbing his arm.

The dark-haired man let out a sigh and reclined in his chair. "My name is Kyle Fletcher. I'm here to ask you some questions about what happened the day before yesterday. You are the only one who was in the room and the same time as the attack and therefore are the prime suspect. Our entire conversation will be recorded, so anything you say will be used against you if necessary."

"Okay, hold on, you haul me off when I'm still resting in a hospital to treat me like a criminal? Oh, thanks a lot."

"Just cooperate and you'll be out of here in no time," Kyle said, obviously not amused with Ed's attitude. Ed snorted in and stared at the interrogator, his eyes flickering with annoyance. "What were you doing in the room?"

"I was changing into some clothes," Ed said simply, not wanting to go into detail why he was changing. Kyle raised one eyebrow in question, but Ed continued to stare at him, his gaze as cold as ever.

"Don't you have dorm rooms for that?"

"Yeah, but I was stupid, so I needed to borrow an extra uniform. Got a problem with that?" the teen snapped.

"Right. What were you and Miss Hawkeye talking about? There appears to have been some kind of struggle or fight," the man said, his unnerving gaze resting on Ed.

"She wanted to ask me if I had turned in my report to Colonel. End of story. Then this big bat thing came in and attacked us. I'm now colorblind because of that," Ed said, his voice dripping with annoyance. "Are we done yet?"

"No. Now, describe this creature," Kyle asked.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? Big bat thing! I didn't get a good look at it because I was promptly knocked out," the irritated blond said.

The investigator let out another sigh and began to massage his temples. "Look, this is fun and all, but I'm not here to play games with you. I know you're the one who cause Riza Hawkeye to go into a coma. I just need you to confess on tape." Piercing green eyes stared into golden ones.

"You have absolutely no proof that I did it, so stop talking to me like I'm some kind of common criminal!" Ed hissed, his anger reaching its boiling point.

"True. What would a shorty like you be able to do anyways?" the man said. He smirked when he saw Ed's eyes narrow in anger. He was getting to the teen and that's exactly what he wanted. Anger usually brought out the truth, making the suspect get tangled in a web of their own lies.

"Do not call me short," Ed said rather calmly, slowly rising from his seat.

"Did you attack Riza or not, Bean?" Kyle asked, smirking in satisfaction, "Only a monster could possibly hurt a woman."

"Shut up! I'm not talking to you anymore! I'm leaving, so good-bye!" Ed snapped as he made his way towards the door, but found that it was locked. "What the hell is going on?" he hissed.

"I can't let the prime suspect leave before the interrogation is finished. You were the only one at the Grand Neko when everyone was killed and now this."

"They're just coincidences!" Ed snarled, golden eyes narrowed in anger, sending waves of hatred towards the interrogator.

"Well, then there are an awful lot of coincidences stacked against you then!" Kyle said, slamming his hands on the table as he stood up. "Now, sit down and we can continue this in a civilized manner, not like a bunch of beasts. I'll ask you once more, did you attack Riza Hawkeye?"

"NO! Now leave me the hell alone!" Ed yelled and began to force the door open.

"Stop that!" Kyle cried out and began to pull Ed away from the door. His eyes widened when he found that the teen was a lot stronger than he looked.

"Get away from me!" Ed snarled and smacked Kyle away, his eyes now a deep shade of crimson and his fangs and claws exposed.

"W-what are you?" Kyle breathed as he slowly backed away from Ed, pressing up against the wall, clutching his wounded side, blood seeping into the dark blue fabric of his uniform. Staring in horror at the beast that was slowly walking towards him, fangs glinting in the dim light.

"A monster," Ed said, his mouth twisting into a wicked smile.

--

Yeah, I'm ending it there. Yes I know. It's a really short chapter and it hasa cliffhanger, and you all are going to hate me for it, but guess what! You guys get another update this weekend! Lucky you. Yes, there will be some RoyxEd in the next chapter. Well, its sorta RoyxEd, but whatever. Review because I love you and reviews make me happy and me being happy is a very very good thing.

--

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Eighteen - Crimson


	18. Crimson

Mmkay, I'm back with another update. Yippee! I should be working on my English and Geography projects, but I don't feel like working on them. Anyways, Ed's vampire half has taken over, so yeah. I'll shut up now and go ahead and write this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I wish I owned Edo and the others, but I don't. Too bad. 

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Eighteen – Crimson

--

"Get away from me!" the interrogator cried as he scrambled away from Ed, trying to pull himself off the ground. His feet slipped on the dusty floor and he fell back to the floor. Kyle could hear his heart pounding in his ears, he'd never been so afraid in his life. He tried once more to stand up and succeeded. "Stay back!" he shouted, trying in vain to make his voice sound confident, but his voice was little more than a choked squeak. The scared man positioned himself behind a chair, his hands twitching as they rested on the chair's back, ready to throw the piece of cheap furniture at Ed, should he attack.

"Foolish little man," Ed whispered, a smirk playing upon his lips, "It's not wise to play games with vampires." The blond-haired boy took one step forward, his smirk widening in satisfaction when he heard the interrogator make a little almost inaudible squeak of terror. "What happened to the brave investigator? The one who asks questions with so much confidence? Was it all an act?" Ed took another step forward, causing the man to take a step back.

"What do you want?" the man asked, his voice shaking. His eyes widened even more with fear when he heard Ed chuckle.

"What do I want? What sort of question is that?" Ed asked as he pulled an innocent face. He then took a few more steps forward, the interrogator taking one back every time Ed moved towards him. Soon Ed had backed the man into a corner, grinning like a hungry wolf who had just secured his meal. The teenager pressed his hands against Kyle's chest, pinning him to the cold walls. Ed's facial expression softened as he leaned his head in so that his lips were only a few inches from the interrogator's ear. "I want you," he whispered, his breath tickling the man's ear.

"What do you-" Kyle began, but he was cut off before he could finish. His neck had been cleanly snapped in two and his head hung limply on his right shoulder, his eyes staring blankly into the air.

"Humans," he began, his voice tinged with false sadness, "Such fragile creatures. They don't make very good playthings, but they're so many that it doesn't matter whether one breaks." He gave a satisfied smirk as the man's body relaxed. He opened his mouth slightly, letting his fangs finally be put to good use once more. The teen then lowered his face to the dead man's neck, ready to bite into the flesh.

"Mr. Fletcher are you all ri- Who the hell are you?" a voice said as the door to the room opened.

_Must I always be interrupted? This is quite an annoyance,_ Ed thought as he pulled away from the corpse and turned his head to face the intruder.

"Who I am is none of your concern, but as of now your chances of survival is very slim. I suggest you run," Ed said coolly as his red eyes bore into the soldier's brown ones. The soldier appeared to be rather healthy, his cheeks were full of color and his eyes sparkled with life. The startled young man took a step backwards, succeeding only in tripping over his own boot. Ed smirked as he let the interrogator's body fall to the floor and began his advance towards the brown-haired soldier.

Ed's smirk slipped when he saw tears forming in the corner of the soldier's eyes. "Pitiful," he whispered, his voice dripping with disgust. He then kneeled beside the trembling soldier. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you," Ed murmured as he caressed the soldier's cheek.

"Really?" he asked.

"Of course," Ed replied, managing to pull off a warm smile. The soldier relaxed and let his eyelids droop. The blond vampire let his fingers run along his next victim's neck. Red lines formed where his nails had cut into the skin. He smirked as the hot red liquid dripped down onto his hands.

The soldier's body slowly went limp and Ed stood up, licking the blood off his fingers. "Tasty, but not enough to satisfy me," the vampire said as he exited the room, leaving the two dead bodies in his wake.

Ed began to walk down the empty corridor, his footsteps echoing as he went. Droplets of blood slipped from his hand onto the floor and a thin line of crimson ran down from his lips. His stomach growled at him, demanding Ed to satisfy its cravings. The blond winced as sharp blow pain ran through his skull, causing him to shut his eyes. He needed blood and he needed it soon. Without it he wouldn't survive much longer.

"Stupid human half," he muttered, "Constantly causing problems for me, no, us. He suffers when I suffer." Ed sighed and opened his eyes. The world was spinning around him and his vision was blurring. He suddenly heard a door opening, a shout, and footsteps heading his way. "Can I not get a moments peace?" he asked himself as he turned around to see who had decided to disturb him.

"Put your hands in the air and come with us!" a male voice bellowed. Ed could still hear it shaking slightly behind the mask of false courage and confidence.

"I refuse," the blond stated as his red eyes fixed on the many soldiers who had come up behind him. He grinned and rushed towards them, preparing to slice them all in half.

--

_Stupid Ed,_ Roy thought as he sprinted down the road, hoping with all his being that he was right about where Ed was. _Please let him be there._ His frown grew when he saw the building he was looking for. _It's now or never._

Roy had left the busy part of the city behind and was currently in a place he had hoped to never return to. The beautiful day had turned into a stormy one. The sky was dark and the low booms of thunder filled the Colonel's ears. Rain blinded him, the droplets lashing out at his face. He ignored the stinging on his face and hurried inside the dreary building that was located in the most run-down part of town. The part of town where rats were the majority of the population and garbage littered the ground.

"Ed?" Roy called out as he entered the dark building. His voice bounced off the walls, causing an eerie echo to be produced. "Ed? Are you there?"

Roy's eyes widened when he heard a choked scream coming from the hallway on the right. His gulped as he walked towards the door, his hand trembling slightly as he grasped the doorknob. The raven-haired man took a deep breath to calm himself and quickly pushed the door open. His breath caught in his throat at the sight before him.

Ed was standing in the middle of the hallway, surrounded by the many bloodied corpses of the soldiers and officers stationed in the building. Blood covered his pajamas, face, and hands. The walls were dripping with the same crimson liquid and there were puddles of it on the floor. Ed's mouth was twisted into a cruel grin, the blood on his fangs glinting in the dim light of the hallway.

"Ed?" Roy asked, his voice shaking as he took a couple of steps towards Ed, trying his best not to slip in the pools of blood. He was soon standing beside the vampire. "Ed, are you alright?" Roy asked, "Why did you do this?" There was no response. "Ed?"

The older man gasped as Ed pushed him to the wall, pinning him. Roy tried to squirm out of Ed's grip, but it was in vain, the blond teen was much stronger than him. Black eyes stared helplessly into crimson ones.

"Roy," Ed whispered as the smirk fell and his expression softened. His eyes gazed at Roy, mesmerizing the Colonel. The vampire lifted one hand off Roy's chest and ran his fingers on Roy's cheek, being careful not to cut into the pale skin.

"Ed, what are you doing?" Roy asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the moment. Ed shushed him. "Ed?" The Colonel tried to break free, but Ed's grip on him tightened, making him wince slightly.

"Stop moving so much. Must you make this so difficult?" Ed murmured, his eyes hardening slightly. The vampire stood on his toes, so that he was almost of equal height with the raven-haired man.

"Ed? Seriously, what are you planning," Roy asked once more, receiving a small giggle from Ed. _Giggle? Since when did Ed giggle?_

"Nothing you wouldn't like," Ed purred as he cupped Roy's cheek with his hand. The blond's eyes closed slightly as he leaned in. Roy was frozen on the spot. Ed's lips were only a few inches away from his own. Roy's eyes widened as he felt the vampire's lips lightly brush his for only a second before Ed quickly pulled away.

"Ed?" Roy asked when he felt the teenager's grip on him loosen. Ed's body went limp and teetered to one side. "Ed!" Roy cried out as he caught the teen, "Ed! Say something!" Golden eyes gazed up at him.

"Roy," Ed managed to choke out before he blacked out.

_I've got to get him out of here!_ Roy quickly thought and picked Ed up, cradling the teen's smaller frame in his arms. The Colonel quickly ran out of the building, trying to protect Ed as best he could from the rain.

--

Ed let out a small groan as he opened his eyes. He was lying in Roy's bed and Roy himself was sitting on the ground, his back pressed against the wall. His breaths were coming in quickly and his hair and clothes were soaked. Tiny droplet of water fell from the strands of black hair onto his flushed face.

"Roy?" Ed said in alarm as he quickly sat up. The Colonel looked up at him, his eyes filled with relief. "Roy!" the blond said as he scrambled out of bed to sit beside the older man. "What happened?" he asked, his golden eyes gazing hopefully at Roy, obviously wanting an answer of some sort.

The older man let out a small grunt and turned his head away from Ed, trying his best to avoid the teen's gaze.

"Tell me!" Ed demanded. His eyes suddenly widened when he realized what had happened. "I lost control didn't I?" he whispered, "Did I hurt you?" An alarmed expression crossed Ed's face.

"No, you didn't hurt me Ed," Roy said as he finally steadied his breathing. Ed let out a small sigh of relief, but he was still not completely relieved.

"I hurt other people though, didn't I?" the small vampire asked. Roy gave a small nod. A frown quickly grew on Ed's face.

"Ed, I'm worried about you. You collapsed back there and that wasn't the first time," the Colonel said as he stared into Ed's eyes. "You need to drink blood otherwise you'll die and I don't want that to happen."

"I-" Ed began, but was cut off by another jolt of pain rushing through his head. He let out a small groan and shut his eyes. His stomach was doing flip-flops and the sounds around him were becoming louder and louder. He cracked open one eye only to see a worried Roy in front of him. "It's only a small headache," he protested.

"It's not only a small headache! You're body is warning you about the absence of blood in you diet," Roy said, his tone was serious, "You need blood to survive."

"Ow," Ed muttered as he felt his canines grow even larger. They were making it hard to speak. "I donth wanth tho dwink blood," Ed protested, his voice slightly muffled because he was covering his mouth with his hands, not wanting to let Roy see his fangs. "Letho!" Ed said as Roy tried to pry his hands away.

"Move your hands," Roy said as he continued to battle against Ed. The Colonel eventually succeeded, much to Ed's embarrassment. Ed averted his gaze, his face burning with shame.

"I'm thorry," he mumbled. His eyes widened when he felt Roy pull him closer. Ed had no choice but to look at the other man.

"There's no need to be sorry, Ed," Roy said, his voice soothing Ed. The Colonel sighed. "Ed, what I'm going to say next may startle you, but it's for your own good." Ed's breath caught in his throat as he felt a blush creep across his face. "Ed, you need to drink my blood." The teen's eyes widened considerably.

"Impothable! No Thway!" Ed cried out.

"You have to! It's the only way for you to stay alive!" Roy responded. His expression then softened. "Please, Ed."

"I mighth kill you," Ed said sadly, his eyes staring at the ground.

"I'll just have to take that risk," Roy said, his tone telling Ed that he wasn't going to change his mind.

"I'll hurth you," the teen said, trying in vain to make Roy reconsider.

"I'm not changing my mind," Roy said simply. He pulled Ed even closer. The blond was pressed up against the Colonel's chest and the man's bare neck was exposed. "You can do it, Ed."

The vampire took in a shaky breath and leaned in. Roy could feel Ed's shaky breaths on his neck. The teen shut his eyes and opened his mouth, ready to bite down into Roy's flesh. Sharp fangs quickly pierced pale skin and blood flowed out. The raven-haired man winced as pain seared through his neck, but that pain was a small price to pay for Ed's survival.

Blood gushed into Ed's mouth faster than the blond-haired boy had expected. The metallic taste made him want to retch, but he continued to drink. A few tears ran down his cheeks. He could feel Roy's muscles tighten up as he continued to drink. Ed suddenly relaxed as a new taste hit his taste buds. It was unlike anything he'd ever tasted and to his disgust, he liked it. It was a mixture of vanilla and coffee, which was rather strange since blood wasn't supposed to taste like that.

Ed suddenly pulled away. "I-I can't. N-no more," Ed said as he wiped a few tears off his face. His fangs had already shrunk enough so that he could speak normally.

"It's all right, Ed," Roy said as he wiped the blood away from the blond vampire's lips. More tears began to roll down Ed's cheeks.

"I'm sorry," the blond said as he shut his eyes.

"There's nothing to be sorry for," Roy said as he pulled Ed into a comforting embrace, causing the boy to let out a happy sigh. Ed was soon fast asleep in Roy's arms. The wound on Roy's neck was already starting to heal and no more blood was coming from it. Roy soon found himself falling asleep as well. If anyone had walked in on them, they would've seen the two alchemists sleeping, Ed's head resting against Roy's chest and the raven-haired man's arms wrapped protectively around the blond.

--

So? How was it? Enough fluff for ya? Was it even fluff? Meh.This was fun to write. Edo finally drank Roy's blood and stuff. Well, I'll be updating next weekend as well! So, review and make an author happy!

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Nineteen – Missing Pieces of a Puzzle


	19. Missing Pieces of a Puzzle

I know it's been way too long since I last updated, but I have good reasons. First I got food poisoning and then the stomach flu. Then I got a migraine that lasted for three freakin' days and had to have an IV shoved into my arm. The week after that I was on a well-deserved vacation and now I'm spitting up blood and the doctor thinks that I might have TB, which is Tuberculosis for those of you who don't know. Well, thanks to all of you that reviewed. I'm absolutely amazed at the amount of reviews I have for this story. I didn't really think this was all that good actually, but whatever. Thanks.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Full Metal Alchemist. I own a magic sock and a magic pair of pants, but that's it.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Nineteen – Missing Pieces of a Puzzle

--

Roy awoke to an unfamiliar weight resting on his chest. His back was still resting against the wall and had become rather stiff from staying in the same position the entire night. A light pink blush appeared on his face when he looked down and found that Ed was still sleeping peacefully, using the Colonel's chest as a pillow, a small smile on his lips. The raven-haired man also realized that his arm was still wrapped protectively around the smaller boy's frame, keeping him close.

_Ack! I want to move, but I'll wake Ed up if I do,_ Roy thought to himself as he stared up at the ceiling. Ed stirred slightly, but his golden eyes remained shut. The teen inhaled and snuggled closer to Roy, causing the light pink blush to quickly deepen until it was a deep magenta. _Ed! Roll over or something! I really need to get up!_ Roy thought desperately, banging his head softly against the wall.

As if he had heard the Colonel's silent pleas, Edward pressed his body even closer if that were even possible just to cause Roy as much discomfort as possible. The older man was actually rather comfortable, but he didn't want to get his head chewed off when Ed woke up. Roy's entire body tensed when he heard the blond let out a small groan and saw Ed's eyelids flutter.

_Please don't wake up. Please don't wake up,_ Roy pleaded as he became as still as possible. He even held his breath. The blond alchemist suddenly relapsed into the peaceful slumber and let out a small grunt as he rolled off Roy and onto the floor. _Thank you,_ Roy thought and quickly said a silent prayer.

The Colonel then quickly, but quietly, stood up and wandered over to the bathroom. His hair was a complete and utter mess and the spot on his neck where Ed had bitten him was red and puffy. It looked like a rather large hickey when viewed from far away. Roy chuckled softly to himself when that thought came to mind. What would people think if they saw him in this state? Messy hair, hickey on his neck, and a crinkled shirt that had been slept in, well Roy could already think of a few things that might pass through his mind. He smirked and splashed some cool water on his warm face.

A sudden knocking on his door caught Roy's attention. The Colonel sighed, clearly irritated since that knocking could wake Ed up and most likely had. Roy was surprised and relieved to see the blond still sleeping soundly on the floor, now curled up in a small ball. The raven-haired man couldn't help but smile when he saw this. Ed really did look like a small child when he was calm. It was hard to believe he was actually almost seventeen. Tearing his thoughts away from Edward, the Colonel moved over to his bedroom window and looked outside to see who his unexpected visitors were.

Roy's breath caught in his chest when he saw whom it was. There were six military personnel and each and every one of them was armed. Roy quickly thought of all the reasons they would be here. He could only think that they found out that Edward was a vampire and the one who was responsible for all those deaths. They were here to arrest Ed! Roy quickly formed a plan in his head.

"Ed! Edward! Wake up!" Roy said in a loud whisper as he kneeled down beside the sleeping boy and began to shake him gently. Edward answered with a loud groan and swatted Roy's hand away.

"What do you want?" Ed asked, his words were slightly slurred due to his recently awakened state. The teen sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to rid them of the last specks of sleep.

_Well, Ed's being unusually compliant today,_ Roy thought as a surprised expression crossed his face. He soon became serious once more. "Ed, the military is here. I think they might have found out about your condition." Roy paused and let everything sink in. Ed's eyes widened considerably and he was about to open his mouth to blurt something out, but Roy quickly shushed him. "We have to get out of here as quickly as possible. Ed, you need to sneak out the back and head towards the park. I'll meet you there as soon as you can." Edward opened his mouth to protest, but Roy shushed him once more. "Just go!"

Ed reluctantly agreed and was out of the house in a flash, his inhuman speed making him merely a blur to the human eye. Roy sighed worriedly and went to answer the door. Maybe his appearance would scare them away.

"Can I help you?" he asked when he opened the door. Roy yawned and rubbed his eye, which made it look he had just woken up. The Colonel couldn't help but smirk inwardly when he saw the men's expressions when they saw him. They must've thought that he had a female upstairs and had spent the night with her.

The leader of the group made himself known by speaking up. "You are the superior officer of Edward Elric, correct?" the man asked, his carefully coiffed moustache bobbing up and down as he spoke, distracting Roy slightly.

"Yes," the raven-haired man replied, staring rather blankly at the officers standing before him.

"Do you have any information about his whereabouts?"

"Isn't he back at the dorms? That's where he should be. Did you check there yet?"

"Mr. Elric is not present at the dorms and hasn't been for quite some time. Did you happen to know that your subordinate is the prime suspect in the atrocious murders that have occurred these past few weeks?" the leader asked, rather confused with Roy's behavior.

"No, I had no idea," the Colonel replied, trying his best to sound genuinely stunned.

"Is Mr. Elric with you?"

"What do you think?" Roy asked, hoping that they would take a hint and just leave. This caught the officer off-guard and he began to stutter.

"I-I u-understand s-sir," the moustached man replied. "I'm s-sorry to h-have t-troubled you." The leader and the rest of the officers gave Roy a quick salute and hastily departed. Roy snickered when he watched them leave and slowly shut the door.

_Now, time to go meet up with Ed,_ Roy said as he walked back up the stairs to pack a few necessary items and change.

--

Ed sat hidden in the dense foliage of the tall oak tree that stood in the park. The tree's many multicolored leaves kept him well hidden from view. His blond hair was messy and stuck out in all directions. He was now trying to tame in with his fingers. The blond winced when his thumb snagged in one tightly knotted clump. He continued to try and untangle his hair, but gave up in frustration.

_Where the hell is he?_ Ed asked himself silently as he rested his head against the tree's rough trunk. The teen bit his lower lip, wondering whether something terrible had happened and Roy was now locked up. Edward tried desperately not to think of those things. He needed to remain optimistic, which was easier said than done. _Any moment now, Roy is going to pop out of nowhere and laugh at me for being so stupid,_ he thought and let out a soft sigh.

"Edward?" a familiar voice suddenly called out. Ed's eyes widened and he quickly stuck his head out into the open to confirm his suspicions. He grinned broadly when he saw Roy standing there, a small suitcase grasped in one hand.

"Hi!" Ed cried out happily as he swung down on his perch, making it so that he was now hanging upside down. The blond had discovered that he had a new ability. He could stick to almost any surface. It was as if the soles of his shoes were made of flypaper. The rules of gravity meant absolutely nothing to him now.

"Holy-!" Roy began clearly startled by Ed's sudden appearance. The Colonel's mouth hung open slightly when he saw that Ed was standing on the underside of a tree branch. "How do you do that?" he asked, clearly in awe.

"I have no idea," Ed stated simply and dropped down to the earth, landing gracefully on his feet. "So, where are we going?" he asked.

"Someplace where the military will never ever think to look," Roy said and gave a satisfied smirk. It was nice to know that he knew more than the blond, which always seemed to infuriate Edward to no end. This time the teen merely shrugged and walked towards Roy, stopping at his side.

"Let's go then," he said, his impatient nature revealing itself once more, "You know that I don't like waiting." Roy chuckled and smiled, which earned a smile back from Ed.

"Okay then," the Colonel said and grasped the briefcase firmly in his hand, making sure that it wouldn't fall out of his grasp. The wind ruffled his clean white blouse that was neatly tucked in his black pants. The two then began to walk off towards the train station.

--

The train station was extremely busy as always. People of every shape and size rushed about from train to train. The conductor's shouts were lost amongst the loud whistles and clatter of luggage trolleys.

"Roy," Edward began, tugging on the older man's sleeve to get his attention, "That book, it said that there was a way to become human again." Edward paused and bit his lip once more to keep it from trembling. The want to become human again was overwhelming. He didn't want to be a monster that feeds off of others his entire life. He may have been able to control himself once, but he didn't know for certain what would happen in the future.

"I know, Ed. We'll find a way. It has to be out there somewhere," Roy replied and managed to force a weak smile, hoping to cheer the younger boy up. It worked since Ed smiled back and grasped Roy's hand, letting his fingers entwine with the Colonel's.

"Thanks," the teen said. Feeling genuinely happy for the first time in a while. It was as if Roy was his salvation, the one who would show him the light and bring him back to humanity's side.

A high-pitched whistle blew and a conductor shouted something that seemed to be of no importance to Ed, but was the opposite for Roy.

"Shit!" the Colonel cursed and ran towards the smoking train, dragging Ed along. Roy quickly handed the conductor two tickets and hauled Ed on board when the conductor gave a small nod.

--

Ed sighed as the compartment door shut behind them. The train was relatively full, since it seemed as if they had to search half the train for an empty compartment. Almost as soon as the two males had sat down onto the plush seats, the train began to pull out of the station.

"Well, we made it," Ed said, breaking the silence that hung between them.

"Yeah," Roy said, panting slightly from all the excitement, "I thought that we were going to have to wait till tomorrow to catch the next train." The silence settled over them once more, leaving Ed feeling slightly awkward and uncomfortable.

"Where are we going?" the blond asked hopefully. The Colonel gave him a crooked grin that made a pink blush settle on Ed's face.

"Pravek," Roy replied and settled into his chair, still grinning. Ed raised one eyebrow since he had no idea where this place was.

"Why are we going there?" he asked, pressing Roy for further information.

"That's for me to know and you to find out when we get there in about eleven hours," Roy said and began to stare out the window, acting as if the dull barren hills that rolled outside were more interesting than Ed.

"You're no fun," the teen remarked and began to pout, obviously unhappy that secrets were being kept from him. Roy smiled at Ed's response, his attention still focused on what lay on the other side of the large window. Seeing that Roy wasn't going to pay any attention to him, Ed stuck out his tongue and looked the other way, ignoring the Colonel as well.

"Real mature, Ed. Real mature," Roy said after Ed's display of childish behavior.

"Piss off," Ed grumbled and crossed his arms across his chest, earning another chuckle from Roy. "What's so funny?" he asked, obviously starting to get irritated.

"Nothing," the older man replied and continued to gaze out at the hills. Ed snorted.

"Whatever," he mumbled.

The two men then began to bask in each other's silent company for the rest of the hour, Roy staring out the window and Ed looking the other way.

--

Mmkay, I'm going to stop there for now. Look for an update either this weekend or next. Don't forget to review my lovelies and I'll love you forever. Yeah. I know Roy and Ed are a bit OOC now. Can't they act nice to each other for once? Probably now, but you understand what I'm saying. Right?

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Twenty - Monster


	20. Monster

Lyke d00d, I've updated O Holymotherofgoditsamiracle! Anyhoo, time for my excuses –munches on Cheez-its- First of all, I do not have TB, which is good. Instead I have some sort of problem with my stomach and all the medicines they give me make me sick. I also had a mini operation. They ended up stabbing me five times with an IV needle before they finally sent me off into La-La Land. I could not type for prolonged periods of time for about a week and a half. Then I got loads of schoolwork and junk like that. Then God gave me the worst kind of punishment, he made my computer rebel against me. Nothing worked, so I went into depression. I was stuck with a freakin' laptop that burned me. Stupid thing. Ya. Then my parents dumped me off at my friend's house twice because they needed to go on vacation. That's pretty much it. Oh! I was also being a lazy fart, but you all love me anyways. Right?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Full Metal Alchemist. However, I do own this story. If I catch you stealing _anything_ from me then I'll make your life a living hell. Have a nice day.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Twenty – Monster

--

Roy sighed and let his chin rest in his palm. He had propped one elbow up on the seat's armrest and was still gazing out at the countryside. His eyes were slightly glazed over and didn't seem to be taking in anything that rolled past the large window. How long had he been sitting here? A while. It was already late in the afternoon and the sun was beginning to dip in the sky, tinting it a slightly yellowish color.

He tore his eyes away from the boring hills of greenery. There weren't even a few cows out there to keep him interested, but then again, how interesting could livestock be? Not very, but they were better than this endless sea of green. A small smile played upon his lips when he saw Ed snoozing in his seat, his head resting against the cushion's velvety surface. The small blond was just small enough to lie down comfortably on the bench across from Roy.

A serene expression was upon Edward's face. His lips were slightly parted and they moved every now and then, as if he were trying to speak. Locks of golden hair had fallen into the boy's face, giving him an innocent air, and his cheeks were also tinged with pink.

Roy reached over and tucked a strand of the soft hair behind Ed's ear. The blond did not stir. The boy was in a deep sleep and had been for the past couple of hours. He had gotten bored of the silence and had decided to take a quick nap. Ha! Quick? Ed had been asleep for three hours at least and the boy slept like a rock.

"Roy…" Edward suddenly murmured, curling into a ball. His face had a pained expression on it and his hands had balled into fists. This sudden noise had caught the Colonel's attention and he was staring expectantly at Ed.

_Is he dreaming about me?_ he suddenly thought, smirking slightly at the thought. Of course Edward would never be having _those_ kinds of dreams about him. He bet that the blond was dreaming about blowing him to smithereens and proving that he was the better alchemist. The Colonel smirk deepened and he slumped back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest. What? Did he wish that Ed were dreaming _that_ about him? The thought of it made him feel slightly uneasy.

"Nngh…" the boy groaned and grimaced in his sleep, turning over so that his stomach was turned towards the ceiling. His face was contorted in a mixture of confusion, pain, and anger. Roy quickly sat up and looked at Ed with new worry.

_He's only having a nightmare,_ Roy said to himself as he watched the boy groan again and tense up. He paused for a moment, debating whether he should wake Edward up. Thinking that it was for the best, he got up and walked towards Ed, shaking him gently.

"Edward," he murmured, shaking the boy once more. The blond stirred and slowly open his molten amber eyes.

"Ah!" he screeched, quickly sitting up. He had wrapped his arms around himself defensively and his breaths were shaky. The boy could feel his heart hammering against his rib cage as fear continued to choke him.

"Ed, it's only me," Roy said, his dark eyes boring into Ed's light ones. The blond took a few moments to register what the Colonel had just said, and the slowly relaxed, letting out a last shaky breath.

"Oh…" he replied softly and let his arms fall back down to his sides. His eyes were fixed upon the ground. He couldn't bear to face the Colonel now. Not after that dream. Was it a dream? It felt so _real_. A shiver ran up his spine and he shut his eyes involuntarily.

"Ed? Are you feeling alright?" Roy asked, causing Ed to open his eyes quickly. The boy nodded and quickly looked away.

"Yeah…" he replied and hugged his knees to his chest, hoping that Roy would leave it at that. His eyes were filled with shame that Roy could not understand.

_Why is he embarrassed?_ the Colonel asked himself, but did not press the matter. Instead, he sat back down and gazed out the window. He was being so un-Roy that it was starting to make Ed even more nervous. Had he done something to upset the older man? He hoped not.

Thinking about what he could've done to make Roy mad kept Ed busy for a few moments, but soon his mind wandered back towards his nightmare. He couldn't help but shudder when he remembered it. Edward let his eyes slip closed and watched the entire dream replay itself.

--

_The air was thick with the flowery aroma of sunflowers and their yellow petals danced in the summer wind. A few puffy white clouds dotted the sky and Ed swore that one of them looked like his little brother, Alphonse. He smiled as he watched the cloud drift lazily across the sky. The blond let out a small yawn as he rolled over in his soft bed of sunflowers. They surrounded him, their soft petals brushing against his sun-warmed skin._

_A bird chirped and fluttered off into the sun, casting a momentary shadow onto Ed's face. He let out a contented sigh and continued to bask in the sun's comforting rays. His eyes slipped shut and he let himself slip into nature's smooth hands. It was as if the human world had slipped away and he was the only one. Maybe he was. It was so awfully quiet after all._

_A sudden jolt of pain caused the blond to open his eyes and sit up. He felt something warm and wet on his abdomen. He looked down and saw that his shirt was soaked with blood, but there was no visible wound. His eyes quickly darted around. The yellow petals had turned to ash and the ground had melted into a warm crimson pool. The blond could feel himself sinking into it, the warm blood washing over his skin. Everything had grown darker and the sky was a deep red, the silver moon standing out prominently against the dark surface. Black clouds had replaced the white ones and the one that looked like Alphonse had turned into a grinning demon that Edward quickly recognized, himself._

"_No!" he cried out, quickly standing up, which only succeeded in him sinking deeper, the liquid crawling up to his ankles. Edward began to panic and thrash about, causing him to fall over, blood splattering all over him._

_A cruel laugh met with Ed's ears, causing the small alchemist to turn around, eyes blazing with fury. The blond let out an animalistic snarl and crouched down in a fighting stance._

"_Ooh, feisty aren't we?" Raith said and crossed his arms across his chest. Ed could see white fangs glinting in the moonlight._

"_What do you want?" Ed hissed._

_Raith took a moment to ponder this. "Lesse…" he began, "What do I want?" A mischievous grin spread across the vampire's face. "You," he answer simply and appeared behind Edward, snaking his arms around the blond's waist. This caused Edward to let out a small squeak and quickly turn around. He was about to break free of Raith's grip when he felt the other vampire's lips connect with his own._

_Ed was stunned. He was like a deer in headlights. His entire body froze at the sudden contact. He suddenly felt a sudden pain in his lower lip at the vampire sank his fangs into it, drawing blood._

"_No!" he cried out and pushed the vampire away. The blood could taste blood in his mouth and felt it trickle down his chin. Raith was laughing like a madman._

"_That was payback," the vampire replied, his voice icy and filled with malevolence. Ed glared at him and wiped the blood away. Why were these vampires always kissing him? It was just plain creepy. "Oh! Don't tell me that you didn't enjoy it," Raith taunted._

_Ed's face burned with shame and he felt a blush settle over his cheeks. It was true. He had never not enjoyed any of these kisses. How much he hated to admit it, these vampires were good kissers._

"_Ha! I knew it!" Raith cried out when he saw Ed's red face, causing it to turn even redder. A satisfied smirk played upon the vampire's lips. "You know that you'll never be able to kiss Roy," the vampire suddenly spoke._

_This caused Ed to take a few steps back in surprise, his mouth agape. How did Raith know that he liked Roy? Did this vampire know how to read minds? Probably._

"_Wha-what?" Ed stuttered, completely caught off-guard by Raith's sudden statement._

"_He thinks you're a monster," the vampire replied._

"_B-but," the blond began, "He said that he didn't think so! He told me!"_

"_He was lying. Adults do it all the time," the vampire hissed, "Get used to it."_

_Ed could feel himself shaking slightly. Why should he believe what this vampire was telling him? It probably wasn't even true! So why was he getting so worked up about this?_

"_Don't tell me you believed him? Aww… Poor baby," the vampire cooed, stepping closer to Ed, "But I won't hurt you. We won't hurt you. Why don't you leave that liar and come with us?"_

_Ed shook his head. "No," he said, his voice shaky and unsure._

"_You really think that he loves you?" the vampire asked. Ed nodded weakly, causing Raith to cackle. "You honestly think so? You realize that love between a vampire and a human will only bring agony? No? You poor thing. You don't know anything."_

"_Leave me alone!" Edward shouted, stepping back. He could feel his eyes prickle from unshed tears. He hated Raith! He hated Litlith! He hated himself. The blond quickly turned around and ran away from the vampire, stumbling every now and then._

"_You can run for only so long!" Raith called out after him._

_Edward gasped when he felt himself sinking even deeper into the blood. It had pulled him in till his waist and was still going. The boy couldn't move. He thrashed about, calling Raith every name under the rainbow. Each curse was answered by a sinister laugh. Soon Ed disappeared into the red depths, drowning in a sea of blood._

--

Ed touched his lip after the dream sequence finished. It wasn't bleeding, so it had been only a dream. But the pain was so real. He shivered once more and looked towards Roy, who was still gazing out the window.

"Roy?" he asked, his voice soft and slightly on the timid side.

"Hmm?" the man answered as he continued to gaze out the window as if what he saw out there was of the utmost importance.

"Do you hate me?" Ed asked, immediately looking down in embarrassment.

Roy raised one eyebrow in question and turned to face Ed. "Is _that_ what's bothering you?" the man asked, finding it rather amusing. Ed nodded weakly, his face becoming slightly red. "Of course I don't hate you. You can be a bit of a pain in the ass at times, but I don't hate you. It's actually just the opposite."

Just the opposite? Had Ed heard the Colonel clearly? He quickly looked up, but the raven-haired man was once again staring out the window, a small smile on his lips.

_I must be imagining things,_ Ed told himself as he leaned against the back of his seat. There was no way that he was going to fall back asleep after what had just happened. Besides, he was sure that they'd be at their destination soon. Right?

"Are we there yet?"

--

Aloha my lovelies. I give you chapter twenty, which means we only have about seven chapters left! Maybe even less! It all depends. Anyways, review like always and I'll try and get a new chapter up after I update my other story.

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Twenty-One - Pierre de Sang


	21. Pierre de Sang

HOMGZ! It's another update! Anyhoo, nothing much to say this time. Thanks to all those who reviewed. I really appreciate your comments. Now, on with the story.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Twenty-One – Pierre de Sang

--

For the last time, Edward! We are not there yet!" Roy Mustang exclaimed, putting extra emphasis on the negation. An unpleasant pounding in his head made him let out a small groan. Well, listening to a bothersome teenager could have that effect.

"Awww…" Ed replied, pouting. He crossed his arms across his chest and slumped in his seat, glaring at his superior officer in a childish fashion.

"I give up!" Roy said, throwing his arms up in defeat. He then busied himself with the countryside once more, black eyes fixed on the rolling green pastures. Silence then settled over the two males, giving them time to think.

Edward huffed and sulked in his seat. His expression had darkened considerably and he was in a foul mood. Well, after spending almost ten hours on this hellish machine, Ed had the right to be a little unhappy. He shifted around in his seat for a few moments, but soon gave up on finding a comfortable sitting position. Instead he just flopped down onto his side, his golden eyes fixed upon Roy.

"Hey Roy?" he began.

"Yeah?"

"… Are we there yet?"

"No!" the raven-haired man cried out. Roy swore than his was close to snapping. Then, there was silence once more. It was only shattered by Ed's voice.

"Oh…" A small sigh then escaped the blonde's lips as he let his arm dangle over the side of the seat. His lips were fixed in a frown and he sported a melancholy expression. Was it true what Raith said? Or was the vampire just manipulating him? He suspected the latter, but still…

"Roy?" he suddenly questioned, eyes darting upwards to see the Colonel's face.

"Ed, I swear I'll strangle you if you ask me that same question once more."

"No. It's not that."

"Oh. Then what is it?" the man asked, wondering what Ed wanted to say and if it had any importance.

"Are you afraid that I might hurt you?" There was a small pause. "Are you afraid of being around me?" Edward stared at Roy expectantly, waiting for an answer. The older man took a few moments to think before replying.

"No," Roy replied with such firmness that Ed knew that he was telling the truth. "I'm not afraid of you. What could a shorty like you do anyways?" He smiled warmly at the younger boy, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Hey! I'm still growing!" said 'shorty' retorted, quickly returning to a sitting position. His eyes fixed upon the Colonel and gave him a lengthy glare. Before Roy knew what was happening, Edward had pinned him down and was tickling him.

Edward grinned as he watched the Colonel squirm around underneath him, trying to get away; only Ed knew about Roy's weakness to tickles and he was about to use it to his advantage. Tears came to Roy's eyes as he continued to laugh, eventually becoming quite red in the face.

"Ed!" Roy managed to choke out between fits of laughter, "Stop! Have mercy!" But Ed did not stop until the older man had managed to grab both of his wrists and stop the barrage of tickles. Roy took in a few deep breaths as he sat up, pushing Ed off of him. He knew that the blonde could resume tickling him at any moment. Edward was stronger after all. Faster too. This would take some getting used to.

"Fine," Ed replied, not bothering to rip his wrists free of Roy's grasp. He was sitting on his knees, only then could he remain at eye-level with the Colonel, which made the task of glaring easier. A staring contest soon ensued and Roy was the victor.

"You got lucky," Edward said as the older man smirked.

"Sore loser," Roy retorted, still holding Ed's wrists. The blond 'hmphed' in replied. "You just proved my point."

"Did not!" Edward shot back.

"Did too!" Roy replied.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

The childish battle ragged on. Neither Roy nor Ed was going to give in any time soon. They eventually began shouting at each other, but a sudden jerky movement from the train quickly silenced them and made them lose their balance. Roy soon found himself staring into Ed's face. They stared at each other dumbly, their noses almost touching. Ed could felt Roy's warm breath on his cheeks, which were steadily becoming quite rosy.

"Umm…" Ed began, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the moment. He knew that he could just go ahead and kiss Roy now and the older man couldn't do anything about it. The blush on his cheeks quickly deepened. Soon the teenager was as red as a tomato. "Roy?" he managed to squeak out, but was quickly silence by a pair of lips gently pressing down upon his own.

The blonde couldn't help but take in a sharp intake of breath. Was this truly happening? Was Roy Mustang truly kissing him? He paused for a moment, but soon found himself giving in to the kiss. His eyes slipped closed and he kissed Roy back.

After what seemed like an eternity, the raven-haired man pulled away, causing Ed's eyes to slowly drift open. His cheeks were tinged with light pink and a small shy smile played upon his lips.

"Edward," Roy breathed, "I love you."

"I love you too," he whispered back as he pulled his wrists free of Roy's grasp and wrapped his arms around the older man's neck. Ed then kissed Roy. However, it wasn't as practiced as the Colonel's. This was his first real kiss after all.

The second kiss was even sweeter than the last one, which had been cautious. This one was more confident. Ed let his eyes slip closed once more as he felt the Colonel's arms wrap around his waist, pulling him closer. The blonde could feel the heat radiating from the two of them. It was comforting and secure. It was then that Ed knew that he was never going to leave Roy.

Ed stiffened slightly when he felt Roy's tongue brush against his lips. He quickly relaxed and granted the man he loved access, parting his lips slightly. The kiss was then deepened and Edward felt himself melting away from the sweetness. He wished this moment could last forever, but it ended all too quickly.

The two of them broke the kiss, but they still remained in each other's embrace. Ed's face was red and he was sure that he could see a slight blush on Roy's pale cheeks.

"Wow," Edward finally whispered, still entranced by the kiss. His fingers brushed against his lips. Moments before, Roy's own lips had been there.

"I see that my kissing skills are to your liking," Roy replied, smug as ever.

"Yeah," Ed replied, still slightly dazed.

--

The train suddenly jerked to a stop, causing Roy's eyes to snap open. He looked around, clearly confused, but soon everything started to make sense. They had finally arrived. He then became aware of the unfamiliar warmth resting against his chest. His eyes traveled downwards and a small smile played upon his lips when he saw Edward curled up against him, head resting against the Colonel's chest and arms wrapped around Roy's torso as well.

"Ed?" Roy whispered in the blonde's ear, causing him to stir slightly. "Ed? We're here?"

"Hmm?" Ed said as he opened his eyes and sat up, pulling away from the Colonel. He yawned and rubbed the last traces of sleep away from his eyes.

"We're here," Roy repeated.

"Oh," Edward replied and stretched.

"Let's go."

"Okay."

Soon the two of them were standing outside in Pravek's train station. Pravek was a small town. It had cobblestone streets and houses made of cream-colored stone. The roofs were made of orange tiles and a large fountain stood in the city square. One might call it picturesque or quaint. There were almost no cars. People got around on foot, on bicycle, or by horseback.

Ed looked around, taking in everything he saw. It was safe to say that he liked this town. The air was clean and everyone seemed happy. But there was one thing he didn't quite understand.

"Why are we here?" he asked, putting his hands on his hips in a demanding manner. This earned a chuckle from Roy. It was Ed's stubbornness that appealed to him in so many ways, but he had found that the blonde could be quite cooperative at times. They were alike in so many ways.

"The stone," Roy replied simply, causing Ed to raise one eyebrow in question. Such a vague reply would clearly not do.

"Well?" the teen pressed, hoping to get an answer out of the Colonel.

"The Pierre de Sang," the older man replied. He paused for a moment before elaborating. "A man who went by the name of Charles Rochenfeld created a stone that had certain properties that made it very valuable. No one knows how he created the stone, but it definitely existed. That stone is the Pierre du Sang, or Blood Stone. It's also called the Blood of the Damned. Said stone might be a way to help you revert back into a human."

"Alright," Ed replied slowly after he listened to Roy's explanation. "But why are we _here_?"

"This town is where he was born."

--

Mmkay, gonna stop there. I know this chapter is kinda short, but I hoped you enjoyed the nice fluffy bits. If you don't like RoyxEd then please take your complaining elsewhere. By reading this far you only tell me that you like my story and actually bother to read it even though the pairing is not to your liking. So, if you do not like RoyxEd then go bug someone who cares. Flames only succeed in pissing me off. I'm already feeling really sick so don't make things worse. Anyways, on a happier note, please please please review! I really like getting reviews.

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Twenty-Two – Traveling Beyond the Bounds


	22. Traveling Beyond the Bounds

Alright. It's been much too long since my last update. I first need to apologize for being so mean and lazy. I took a much needed vacation for a month to Europe. It was awesome and I had a lot of fun. The last couple of months were very stressful and depressing, so it was nice to get away from everything. Three of my very good friends have moved away, so I ended up being too unhappy to write for a bit. As for my health, it is now much better. I am no longer spitting up anything. The medicines have worked and now I no longer need to take them. I still have my off days, but they're thankfully not as bad as before.

I want to thank all of you for being so supportive and still reviewing when I haven't updated in over five months. Well. I think it's been that long. I may be exaggerating. Maybe not. Anyways, Crimson Sin is soon going to come to an end. Well, it's about time. I've been writing this for over a year now. My birthday is coming up, which makes me excited. Fourteen this year! Yay! So, I'll stop talking and just get on with the story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Twenty-Two – Traveling Beyond the Bounds

--

Edward quickly drained his third glass of orange-flavored soda. The orange liquid had bubbled pleasantly in his glass moments before, but now it was gone, leaving a shocked Roy to stare wide-eyed at an empty glass. The raven-haired man looked up at the content blonde, who popped another fry into his mouth, smiling as it crunched beneath his teeth.

"Mmm. So good," he said happily, quickly shoving a few more into his mouth. Then the plate of fries before him was also empty, but another glass of pop had been delivered to replace the absence of fries.

The two males were currently sitting on a sunlit terrace that overlooked the sea, which was probably the bluest thing that Ed had ever seen. Maybe it was even bluer than the sky itself, which was currently cloudless and starting to turn into the rainbow of pastels that signaled the descent of the sun. The terrace was part of an inn that the two had decided to stay in. However, said inn was apparently quite popular, so they had to fight tooth and nail to get a room, but they got one, which was all that mattered.

"Ed, are you done?" the Colonel asked, his voice hopeful. The blonde vampire set his glass down and looked at the other male. He remained silent for a while. Finally he gave his answer.

"It depends," he replied. His lips then pulled back into a grin. "Are you going to eat that?" He pointed at the plate of fries that was in front of Roy. Sighing, the older man shook his head.

"Help yourself."

Edward did exactly that, clearing the plate in a matter of ten seconds. He then patted his stomach, smiling at the warmth in his belly.

"Okay. I'm done," he said, earning a sigh of relief from the Colonel, who muttered something that sounded like, 'Finally'. "Hey!" Edward twitched, starting to become irritated, "I didn't eat _that_ much. Jeeze." He then stood up and Roy quickly followed. The price for their meal was already included in the room fee, and Roy was pretty sure that the innkeeper was crying in some corner because of all the food Ed had managed to eat.

The two of them then walked out towards the street, Roy in the lead, Edward lagging a bit behind. Maybe he had eaten more than he had first thought. Of course, the vampire had no idea where they were going, but Roy seemed to know.

"Where are we going?" he asked, but Roy only gave him a knowing smile, which made the blonde a little wary. He really wanted to know what the older man was planning, but Roy remained silent, so they continued to walk in that silence.

Ed soon found himself lagging behind and broke into an easy jog to catch up. He did catch up, but soon began to lag behind again. Roy, however, didn't slow down. The Colonel kept walking at the same pace. Edward thought about calling out to the raven-haired man, asking him to slow down, but he bit his tongue. No way was he going to willingly leave a dent in his pride, so he began to think. And think he did. A devious smile spread across his face as an idea formed itself in his mind.

"Roy!" he called out, catching up with the Colonel for the second time. The other man looked down at him, a questioning expression on his face, but he continued to walk. The blonde just grinned up at him and took the other male's hand. Now Roy couldn't run off without dragging Ed with him. The Colonel couldn't help but smile back at the boy, who was now smiling happily, pleased that his plan had worked.

They continued to walk and right when Ed was about to whine, Roy announced that they had arrived. Of course the blonde looked around, trying to find out where they were and why it was so special. They were on a small strip of sand that could hardly be called a beach, but it was peaceful and no one else was around.

"The beach?" Ed questioned, "Why are we here?"

"To watch the sunset," Roy replied as he sat down, patting the sand next to him as if asking Ed to sit beside him. The blonde alchemist raised an eyebrow, but sat down before he spoke.

"To watch the sunset?"

"Yes."

There was a moment of silence as Roy stared up at the rainbow colored sky, each color bleeding perfectly into the next. Ed frowned as he too watched the sun as it made its steady descent down.

"Right. What does this have to do with that stone?" Ed asked.

"Nothing. I just heard that the sunsets were beautiful here, so I wanted to see one," Roy replied.

"You're unbelievable." Ed let out a sigh and stood up again. "I think I'll go look in those tide pools over there," he murmured and began to walk off towards the rock formation where said tide pools were.

"Suit yourself," Roy replied, his eyes watching Ed leave for a moment before turning back towards the sky.

Kicking a few stray pebbles that were scattered across the rocks, Ed peered into the clear glittering water of the pools. Most of them were empty, but he managed to spy a few crabs and a starfish. He continued to walk on, his feet occasionally getting sprayed with the sea's salty water. Before he knew it, the beach was no longer in sight; a jagged cliff blocked his view of it. He frowned. How far had he walked? He looked out at the sun. It was now dipping behind the sea. Funny. He hadn't noticed that it was quickly becoming darker.

"Might as well head back I guess," he murmured and turned around to head back towards Roy. He had only taken a few steps when he felt someone grasp his shoulder and spin him around. He let out a small startled cry and tried to land a punch on whoever had just decided to appear, but his fist only connected with the palm of someone's hand.

"Now, Edward, is that any way to greet an old friend?" an all too familiar voice asked as the grip on Ed's hand became stronger. The blonde's eyes widened when he saw who was standing before him.

"No… It's not possible…" he whispered, his shock clearly written in his expression. "Y-you're… Not real…" His lip quivered a bit when he recognized the man standing before him. It was Raith.

"Oh no," Raith replied, "I am very real." He pinched Edward's cheek, causing him to wince and jerk away, but the vampire kept a firm grip on the boy's fist. "See? Not a dream."

"Let go of me," Ed hissed, eyes flashing dangerously, fangs bared. This earned a laugh from the other vampire.

"Not just yet," he replied, a predatory grin crossing his features. Now his own fangs were glinting in the dim light. "I wanted to talk to you. I think it would be in your best interest to hear me out."

"Fuck you," Ed whispered, voice dripping with venom. He then tried to pull his arm away, but Raith's grip tightened. The blonde had successfully managed to irritate the other male.

"What? Is that Colonel of yours not putting out?" he sneered. Ed's face darkened with rage and he promptly tried to hit the man with his other fist, but it was no use. Raith caught that fist as well and let out a cruel laugh. "Too bad my little half-blood. You missed."

"Bastard," Ed muttered as he tried to pull away in vain.

"Of course I am," Raith replied, "But, I think I have some information that could be quite valuable. Information about a certain stone?" This caused Ed to stop.

"Y-you know about it?" he asked, his eyes wide with surprise. This response made Raith chuckle.

"Yes. I do. If you're a good little boy and be quiet, I'll tell you what I know." This shut Ed up. "Well, that wasn't hard was it?" Raith chuckled. He then leaned in to whisper in the boy's ear. "It's in O-" He was cut short, by a certain Colonel.

"Ed are you alrigh-" Roy's eyes widened when he saw Raith. "Who the hell are you?" This earned another chuckle from the older vampire.

"Sorry to cut our conversation short, Edward," he said as he moved towards the cliff's face. "I'd rather not get between you and your boyfriend." He gave them both a small waved and dashed up the cliff in the blink of an eye. "Till next time, Chibi-Chan." His last words echoed in Ed's mind.

"Don't call me short!" he screamed into the sky, but Raith was already long gone. The blonde sighed, still silently fuming. "Damn vampire…" he grumbled as he turned back towards the incredibly confused Roy. Before the other male could get anything out, Ed said, "I don't want to talk about it now. Let's just go back. I'm tired."

"You're tired?" Roy asked in disbelief. Ed had slept during most of the train ride after all. The blonde nodded, trying to make it look like he was really telling the truth as he didn't want to talk to Roy about Raith just yet. "Alright," the Colonel said, letting out a small sigh, "Let's head back then."

"Thanks, Roy," Ed murmured, grasping the other man's hand again. Then the two of them began to walk back to the inn.

--

"Goddammit Roy!" Edward said loudly as he came out of the bathroom wearing a pair of pajamas that were much too big for him. Roy had clearly not thought about the difference in height when he had packed. Though, packing under pressure isn't exactly an easy thing to do. The Colonel could hardly suppress his laughter. To the soft snickering, Ed replied with a loud, "Shut up!"

"Oh don't be so childish, Ed," Roy replied as he took one of the blonde's arms and began to roll up the long sleeves. Ed snorted in reply, but he let the other male roll up the sleeves.

"Thanks," he mumbled when Roy had finished. The pants he'd just have to live with. Besides, it wasn't as if he'd be walking around the inn in his jammies.

"You're welcome," the other replied with a smile before climbing into one of the two beds. Edward had already claimed the one by the window as it had a nice view of the sea. "Goodnight, Ed," Roy whispered as the lights went out. However, the light from the three-quarter moon outside was enough to make any other light unnecessary.

"Goodnight," Ed murmured in reply as he climbed into bed as well, snuggling underneath the covers. He then closed his eyes and before he knew it, he had fallen into a deep nightmare-free sleep.

--

Golden eyes suddenly snapped open as Ed shot up. His breathing was rapid and labored, almost as if he had just been deprived of oxygen and only now was getting some. Though, he didn't know what had woken him up. His skin prickled slightly and he felt slightly uneasy at the moment, like someone was watching him.

He turned to look at Roy, who was still snoring softly, buried underneath the sheets, one arm dangling off the side of the bed. At least he was still sleeping peacefully. Ed ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled, closing his eyes slightly. When he opened them he saw a dark form move out of the corner of his eye. Naturally, his head snapped in that direction and he came face to face with a pair of glowing red eyes.

A scream rose in Ed's throat, but it wouldn't leave. His voice had been choked off by fear. His topaz eyes were wide with fear. This caused the figure in the window to grin, revealing a pair of fangs. The wind then blew towards Ed, pushing his blonde hair into his face. A single word was carried on that breath of wind: _"Oxiir…"_

Then the figure was gone. Ed blinked. How long had he been sitting there? There were no signs that that vampire had been here at all. Maybe he had imagined it all? He felt something damp on his cheeks: tears. His breathing was also shaky. The wind continued to caress his face, but it wasn't comforting at all. He sniffed, wiping away the tears.

"Ed?" Roy asked in a sleepy voice before yawning. "Are you alright?" The Colonel slowly sat up in his own bed, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm fine," Ed replied, completely hiding the shaking in his voice. He sighed and turned his head to the side slightly. "I'm fine," he said again, this time his voice firm and serious.

"Alright, if you say so," Roy murmured, deciding not to press any further. Besides, the older man was too tired to fight with Edward at the moment. Letting out another yawn, he buried himself beneath the sheets once more and fell asleep in a matter of seconds.

Edward was the left to look at the almost full moon outside. He felt a sudden pang of sadness. They were running out of time. He sighed and hugged his knees to his chest. However, that one word was haunting his mind. What did it mean? Was it a place? A thing? A person?

"Oxiir…" he repeated, his voice drowned out by the wind and the waves crashing against the shore.

--

Roy let out a sigh of exasperation. He and Edward had been searching in the town library, whose size rivaled that of Central's, for the past three hours or so. They hadn't made any progress. The raven-haired man couldn't help but notice that Ed's mind seemed to be somewhere else. After all, the blonde had barely said a word and Roy would catch him staring off blankly into space, which was what he was currently doing.

"Ed?" Roy waved a hand in front of the other male's face. This snapped Edward out of his daydream.

"Hmm? Oh. Sorry." The boy then buried his nose back in the book in front of him. Roy watched him for a few moments, but went back to his own book before Ed could snap at him.

Edward turned yet another page. All these books were useless. He slammed it shut and picked up another one. His eyes grew wide when he looked at the first page. It was a detailed map of the country; each city or town had its name written in neat black script. His finger moved to sit upon Pravek and then moved up towards the right, away from the sea.

"R-Roy," he said, getting the other male's attention. "Look." And look the Colonel did, but he didn't seem to find what Ed was pointing at to be very interesting.

"Oxiir," he read out, raising his eyebrows, a quizzical look on his face. "What does this have to do with anything?" he asked.

"That," Ed lowered his voice to an extremely soft whisper, "Is where the stone is."

"How do you know?" Ed bit his lower lip.

"Gut feeling?" he supplied, his voice hopeful. Roy's disbelief was clearly written on his face. "Just trust me. Please?" Roy sighed and massaged his temples.

"Fine, but you better hope that you're right. I've heard pretty nasty rumors about that place."

"Rumors? What kind of rumors?" Roy couldn't help but grin darkly at this.

"Well," he began, looking off to the side for a moment, "They say it's haunted. That's where the most disappearances happen anyways." His grin turned into a smirk. "Though, it's rather ironic. Oxiir used to be one of the largest and most used churches in the entire country." He shrugged. "But now everyone steers clear of it. They say the place brings bad luck. But there's no need to believe such rumors, right?"

Ed snorted. "All that is a load of bull shit and you know it." He stood up and moved towards the librarian's desk. Roy was snickering as he watched a slightly irritated Edward march off. The blonde stopped in front of the desk, slamming his hands down on the polished wood. This definitely got the librarian's attention, the woman practically jumped up onto the ceiling at the sudden slam.

"C-can I help you?" she asked in a timid and soft voice as she pushed her glasses back up onto her nose.

"Where can I find some books about Oxiir?" he asked, his gaze locked with hers. The woman's eyes widened with fear.

"O-Oxiir?" she squeaked. She pointed towards a bookcase in the back, her entire body shaking slightly. "O-o-over there."

"Thanks," Ed replied and walked over to where she had pointed. After some time he had pulled out a book and was sitting with Roy again, his eyes fixed on the pages.

"Well?" Roy asked, curious to know what Ed had found out. The boy's eyes suddenly widened and his brow furrowed. Shutting the book, he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You were right about one thing," he said, "It used to be a church and a very popular one at that, but it was also a meeting spot for occultists. They practiced their rituals in that church." He took in a shaky breath. "The book didn't say what the name of this cult was, but…" He trailed off, biting his lip again. "Those rituals… They drank…" He stopped and looked away. Inhaling deeply, he continued, blurting out the last bit as quickly as he could. "They drank human blood."

_Vampires…_

--

Well, this is a decent sized chapter. Or at least, I think it is. Anyways, I hope it was worth the wait, which it probably wasn't. Ah well. I tried. Anyways, don't forget to review guys! I'll try to get the last three chapters out as soon as I can. Holy poo! Three more chapters! Can you guys believe it? Ya. I shortened everything down and took out a lot of stuff that the story really didn't need. So yes, Crimson Sin will now only be twenty-five chapters. Though, I guess some of you a relieved, no more waiting months for a new chapter.

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Twenty-Three – Moonlight


	23. Moonlight

Homgz! I love you all! The amount of reviews I have already gotten makes me want to jump up and down and let out girlish squeals, which is not normal. Definitely not normal. Anyways, I just want to thank ArmoredSoul. She is the absolute best. A while ago she sent me this extract that she wrote and it has seriously given me the possibility to end Crimson Sin with a huge bang! Well, at least I hope I can. So, thanks Bryonne for inspiring me and all. I altered it a bit to fit down the passage I want the story to take, so yeah. Now I'll get on with the chapter. Yipee! My creative pool has been replenished and all my blocks are gone!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Full Metal Alchemist. I'm really getting tired of saying that.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Twenty-Three – Moonlight

--

"So I take it that our little half-blood has discovered the location of the stone?" a female voice murmured. The owner of the voice itself was hidden within the shadows of the chamber, lounged on the velvet fabric of a couch. Her violet hair cascaded down her pale exposed shoulders and her deep crimson eyes glittered like rubies.

"Yes," Raith replied as he swirled the red liquid in his wine glass round, a smirk playing upon his pale lips.

"Good," the female purred as she got up from her couch, heels clicking against the hardwood floor. She moved towards the white-haired vampire, pressing her slim frame against his muscular one. "Though, I feel bad for deluding the poor dear," she murmured as she let her foot rub against Raith's calf.

"Guilt doesn't suit you m'dear," he murmured, letting his arm wrap around her waist, fingers playing with the fabric of her sleeveless silk top. She smiled, her long black-painted nails running along his cheek.

"No, I suppose it doesn't." She laughed and pushed herself away from Raith, moving towards one of the windows, hips swaying slightly. Of course the long red curtains were drawn, the thick plush material blocking out the sun's harsh glare.

"Lilith…" Raith murmured, not making any sort of move to follow her.

"What, Raith? Getting cold feet?" she asked, moving back towards him. She then took the glass he held and took a sip. She smirked. "Mmm. Where in the world did you find such divine blood?" She licked her red lips, carefully of course as to not smear her lipstick.

"Guess." Lilith cocked an eyebrow at this. Raith was never playful. The vampire was the biggest grouch in the world.

"Oh? So now we're playing a guessing game?" Her lips curled into a thoughtful smile. "Was it that waiter down at the café? He sure did smell delicious." Raith shook his head, his smirk growing. "No? Well, then. It seems that this little game will prove far more difficult than I had first anticipated." She let her index finger trace circles on the other vampire's chest. "But you know how much I like games," she breathed into his ear. "But I think I know the answer. Was it Chibi-Chan's pet?"

"How did you know?" Raith asked, his smirk fading away, replaced with a look of surprise. He knew Lilith was very good at these sorts of games, but he had never thought that she'd find the answer so quickly.

"Oh. A man so fine must have this sort of delicious blood." She grinned, her white teeth completely clean of any blood. "He tastes like vanilla mixed with fire." She handed the glass back to Raith. "But tell me, how did you manage to get his blood without attracting Edward's attention?"

"Oh. Both of them sleep like rocks, so it didn't take much effort on my part." Lilith let out an airy laugh and pushed herself away from him, deciding to take a turn around the room.

"I wonder if Edward will notice," she mused, talking more to herself than Raith as she gazed up at the ceiling. "However." She turned her head to the side a bit. "We must make sure things go according to plan." Raith nodded in understanding.

"Yes."

--

"What do you mean the train doesn't run to Oxiir?" a very ticked off blonde alchemist screeched, causing the poor soul who was on the receiving end to recoil slightly. Roy stood next to the irate boy, massaging his temples, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Edward…" he pleaded, wishing that perhaps the younger male would quiet down. The Colonel could already feel the beginning of a headache beginning to form and he felt extremely tired and irritable for some reason. He'd had a good night's sleep save for the brief period of time that he had been awake in the early hours of the morning, but he felt like he hadn't rested in days. Not to mention that his neck felt rather sore. He slowly reached up and rubbed the side of it.

"I'm sorry, but the train stopped going there a while back," the ticket man said, his voice surprisingly steady as he was an easily intimidated man. This did not ease Edward's temper, instead it made the boy grow even angrier.

"Edward, stop," Roy said before the blonde could spout off some more. Of course this silenced Ed, leaving him to fume silently. The Colonel let out a tired sigh and directed his attention to the ticket man, who was relieved that Edward was no longer directing his anger at him. "Is there any other way to get there?" Roy asked. The ticket man thought for a moment before nodding.

"Y-Yes. You can ride there on horseback and I suppose you can bike some of the way there until the road becomes a bit bumpy." He paused for a moment. "It's very old," he added as an afterthought. Another pause. "Well, there's always the walking option, but I'm sure that horseback would be the best. There's a stable on the other side of town. I'm positive you can get one from there."

"Thank you," Roy replied calmly before turning to Edward. "Let's go." He then walked off, stumbling every now and then as if he were in a daze. The blonde gazed at him worriedly for a moment and ran off after him. The puzzled ticket man just went back to his daily duties of selling train tickets, completely forgetting about his encounter with Edward and Roy.

--

"You're kidding me right?" Edward said when he looked at the beige and white pony that had been presented to him by John Truman, the owner of the stables. Said pony looked absolutely pathetic in Ed's opinion. Hell. He was _taller_ than the stupid thing. Maybe he'd be better off walking.

"Don't be rude," Roy said, elbowing the blonde tiredly in the side. Edward let out a small 'Hmph' in response.

Okay. Roy had to admit that the pony was small, but according to John it was one of the fastest ones in the barn and the only one that could possibly fit Edward's unusual size. The stable owner had been smart enough to not mention small. Apparently he had a son who was just as sensitive as Ed about his height. The only difference was that his son was extremely tall, not short. Edward would like being freakishly tall better than being this short.

"Fine," Edward grumbled in defeat as he reluctantly took the pony's reins. Roy on the other hand, had been presented with a strong white stallion that made Edward's pony seem even smaller.

The two of them paid John and mounted their horses, or in Ed's case, pony. Then they set off in the direction towards Oxiir. It would take them at least till nightfall if they made good time to arrive at the cursed church.

Everything went smoothly for the most part. Edward and Roy talked, though the Colonel listened mostly as he was still quite tired. This didn't bother the blonde much. The short occasional responses were enough for him. But when the sun was beginning to dip down slightly, the blonde began to feel an unpleasant gnawing in the pit of his stomach. His mouth was also slightly sore and his back as well. He was also itching terribly and had to drop his reins numerous times to scratch his itches.

Another hour passed after the symptoms had started and they were only becoming worse. There were now bright angry red lines all over Ed's skin from his excessive scratching. In turn he was only becoming more irritable with each passing second. Roy sensed this and tried his best to soothe the poor boy. Of course neither of them knew what was causing these discomforts.

Suddenly when the sun began to set, Edward's horse bucked right when the boy was clawing at himself once more. Caught completely off guard, the blonde flew off, landing in a heap on the hard gravel path, the small stones digging into his skin, creating more red marks. The clearly frightened pony dashed off back towards the stables at full speed.

Roy was about to get off his own horse to help Ed when he too was thrown off. The spooked horse galloped after the pony, following its example. While Edward was unharmed thanks to his supernatural abilities, Roy had gotten the wind knocked out of his lungs.

The Colonel wheezed as he tried to get his lungs to fill up with air again, still in a heap on the ground. A rather large rock prodded him in the back and made trying to get up painful. His limbs were shaking from the sudden impact and refused to cooperate. Edward's eyes widened considerably when he saw Roy gasping like a fish out of water.

"Roy!" he cried out as he rushed to the other male's side. Panic had taken over and Edward didn't register that Roy would be fine in a few minutes. The blonde's head was spinning as he tried to think of what to do. Then it hit him. CPR! He'd do CPR! That would work right? Right.

Edward of course took a deep breath and was about to lean down to blow it into Roy's lungs when the Colonel sat up, panting heavily, his fingers on Ed's lips.

"I'm fine Ed. I just got the wind knocked out of me."

"Oh," Edward said, turning bright pink, laughing sheepishly. Roy winced as he rubbed his back. That rock would leave a bruise.

"I guess we're walking from here on out," the Colonel murmured as he shakily stood up. He almost fell back down, but Ed quickly caught him and helped him up. "Thanks," Roy murmured, his breathing still rather shaky.

"You're welcome," Edward said. He paused and looked up at the sky. The sun would make its final descent soon. Just thinking about the sunset made his stomach clench uncomfortably. What was wrong with him?

--

Hughes twirled around in his seat at his desk, staring up at the ceiling absent-mindedly. Well, technically it was Roy's desk, chair, and ceiling, but Maes Hughes never paid much attention to the technicalities. He was just filling in for Roy of course, who had decided to take a sudden vacation. Heck. They hadn't even gotten a phone call. Just a little note taped to Mustang's front door that said that he was taking a short vacation to visit some relatives, which was of course completely reasonable, but it was the fact that Roy hadn't bothered to call in that bothered Hughes.

_Riza's going to shoot him the moment he walks through that door,_ he thought to himself. Suddenly he froze, frown deepening. _Oh yeah. She can't._

He let out an unhappy sigh. The now Hawkeye-less office had taken a lot of getting used to. Truthfully, everyone missed the woman. It seemed that she had nothing but misfortune these past weeks. Actually, everyone seemed to be having rotten luck ever since the murders started.

Oh yeah. He was supposed to be doing research on them right now. Though even when he had been working overtime he hadn't found a single hint or clue to what could've caused these sudden and mysterious deaths. Nothing like this had ever happened in Central. These massive killing sprees would start to take a toll on the town's population. But, they had suddenly begun to slow and there was that small smidgen of hope that they had stopped for good.

Suddenly there was a soft knocking at the door. If it hadn't been so deathly quiet in the office, Hughes probably wouldn't notice. He let his feet drop down to the ground and straightened his chair. During this time there was another knock, louder this time.

"Come in!" Maes called out, his expression and voice serious. Hopefully there were some new developments to report.

"Lieutenant Colonel?" a small soft voice said as Cain Fury peeked out from behind the door, a nice thick pile of manila folders in hand.

"What is it Cain?" Hughes asked. He was intrigued by those folders the other male held. Fury pushed his glasses up and hurried over to the desk, setting the folders down, careful to not let them topple over and spill their contents.

"Well, we've all been reexamining these deaths," he began, opening one of the folders. It was filled with pictures of the bodies and information regarding the individual depicted in each photograph. "And we discovered something rather interesting." Hughes let his gaze drift down to the photos for a moment, his nose wrinkling in disgust. Each body had been mauled, completely mutilated. It was not a pleasant sight to say the least.

"And? Go on. I'm listening," the Lieutenant Colonel said as he folded his hands in front of his mouth to create a thoughtful pose.

"Well, at the beginning there were only six deaths, correct?" Hughes nodded in confirmation as Fury pulled out some other photos from the back of the folders. These showed close ups of the bite marks. "As you can see in these photos, bite marks were found on each victim."

"Would you get to the point please?" Hughes asked, growing slightly impatient. Fury nodded and pointed to one set of bite marks. These were quite small and only slightly bigger than pinpricks.

"You see that these are quite small and could've possibly been made by a child," Cain said, his gaze locking with Hughes' for a moment. "A child, Maes, a teenager at most, but never an adult. Darren down in the lab already confirmed that." He then feel silent, giving the other male a moment to mull this over. Finally Hughes spoke.

"So we're looking for a child," he said in disbelief. Fury nodded.

"Or a small teenager," he added.

Hughes' brow furrowed as he closed his eyes in concentration. A child? A child killer? It was a preposterous thought, but if Darren said so then it was most likely true. After all, that man knew what he was talking about when it came to the human body.

"But that's not all," Fury said as he pointed to another photograph. This one had bite marks that were far larger than the other pair. They were almost the size of a pencil's eraser. "These." He tapped the photo for emphasis. "Are far larger. Too large for a child or teenager to have made them. A young adult most likely."

"Two killers," Hughes murmured as realization dawned on him. They were trying to catch an young adult and a child. Fury nodded.

"But, there's something else I think you should know about," Cain said, biting his lower lip nervously. Fury pulled out some more photos. These were from the Grand Neko. "Here we have a total of four with the smaller set of bite marks. The rest of the bodies were just mangled. None of the larger bite marks are present."

"And?" Hughes asked, not quite understanding what the other male was trying to say. Fury took in a deep breath before speaking.

"Who did we find in the hotel that night?" he asked. Although he had fainted from the gory sight, he still remembered who he saw in the middle of it all, covered from head to toe in the blood of innocent people. Hughes frowned, sensing what Fury was getting at.

"You think Edward did this?" he asked, his gaze fixing on Fury.

"Yes," the smaller male said with a small nod.

"Edward Elric? The Full Metal Alchemist?" Hughes got another nod in response, to which he responded to with a sigh, clearly not too sure about this.

"Maes," he began, "He was there at the scene of the crime and he's a small teenager. He fits the bill! It could be possible."

"Perhaps," the Lieutenant Colonel replied, defeated. He had to admit that Cain had a good argument and that there was a slight chance that Edward could possibly be that smaller killer, but what motive did he have to kill all those people? The poor boy had been devastated, shocked, in tears! He sighed again. "But what do you think would cause Edward to suddenly bite people and drain their blood? It just doesn't seem to fit!"

Cain bit his lip. He'd been dreading this part of the conversation the most. Taking in a shaky breath, he closed the folder and moved it to the side, picking up another one. Opening it, he pushed it towards Hughes.

"Just read," he murmured.

"What?"

"Just do it!" Fury snapped, temper rising a bit. Hughes gave him a quizzical look before reading the text printed onto the paper below. His eyes slowly began to widen.

"This is…" he began, looking up at Cain. He frowned and re-read it again. When he was finished the second time his frown had deepened considerably. "Are you suggesting that this was the work of vampires?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Fury replied, realizing that he looked like a complete and utter idiot at the moment. "It's a completely valid explanation. The bodies drained of blood, the bite marks, everything!"

"You're right," Hughes said, "It would be a completely valid explanation if vampires existed!" He voice grew slightly colder. "They're nothing but creatures invented to scare small children. Myths!"

"I know sir, but everything fits!" Maes still gave him the same look of disbelief. "Fine! Take a look at this then." Fury slammed another folder in front of the Lieutenant Colonel, who opened it and began to read the contents. Cain watched as Hughes' face contorted with confusion before relaxing.

"At least consider this theory," Fury murmured, gaze falling to the floor.

"I will," Hughes replied with a sigh. "At this moment the facts do point to him." He paused. "Has anyone seen Ed since this incident? Here it says that everyone at the interrogation building was killed and Edward was nowhere to be found." Fury's eyes darted up in surprise.

"No one knows. He vanished, but he hasn't been acting like himself lately." Cain shrugged. "I do not want to believe that Ed could be the killer, but we have to go with the evidence and most of it points to him."

"I know," Hughes replied. He took in a deep breath and exhaled softly. "From this point on, Edward Elric is the number one suspect in these murders." He paused. "You are free to go, but leave these folders."

"Yes sir," Fury said, saluting Hughes before leaving the room and the folders he had brought.

Maes flipped through each folder's contents once more. If Ed was one of them then who was the other one? That was the million dollar question.

--

"Edward, are you alright?" Roy asked for the umpteenth time. The blonde nodded yet again. The Colonel was sure that Ed thought that he didn't notice that the boy shivered every now and then. He gave the boy a long stare.

"I'm fine," Edward said through clenched teeth. He was clearly in some sort of pain and had a slightly feverish look to him. Roy rolled his eyes.

"You are not fine," he retorted, "You're shivering and look like you're about to drop at any moment." Edward sighed and shivered yet again. This time Roy reached out and felt the boy's forehead. It was burning hot, far hotter than it should've been. He snatched his hand back, but Ed grasped it back and pressed it against his cheek, enjoying the sudden cold.

"So nice and cold," he murmured, closing his eyes a bit, a small smile playing upon his lips. Of course Roy was not smiling.

"Ed! You're burning up!" His eyes grew wide as Edward desperately clung to him, trying to get closer to Roy's cool skin. Behind them the sun began to disappear behind the horizon, vanishing from sight.

They were now walking in a forest and if one looked carefully then the tips of the church's spire could be seen rising above the pines. It wouldn't take much longer to get to Oxiir that was a given, but Edward had suddenly come down with this horrible fever. His body temperature was definitely far warmer than any normal human could survive with, but Edward wasn't normal.

"Roy," the boy moaned as he rested all his weight on the older man, causing the Colonel to loose his balance and sending them both sprawling to the ground. Ed continued to shiver, eyes scrunched tightly together as he curled into a small ball, head resting against Roy's chest. His fingers curled around the fabric of Roy's shirt, stretching it slightly. "So hot." Another groan escaped Ed's lips.

It was all happening so quickly and Roy had no idea what to do. Was Ed dying? His heart began to thrum against his ribcage as fear began to take over. He didn't want to loose Ed. What should he do? Thousands of questions raced through his mind. Then he suddenly became aware of a sudden wetness on his shirt and the sound of coughing. His eyes widened tremendously when he looked down.

Blood dripped from the blonde's lips, staining them red. A growing stain was forming on Roy's shirt as Ed continued to cough, bringing up even more of the red fluid. Tears began to leak out of his eyes as well. There was a horrible burning feeling inside him. His body felt like it was being engulfed in an inferno.

Sweat beaded Ed's brow as he clung to Roy, his small frame shaking uncontrollably. Suddenly the blonde pushed the older male away and spat out a large glob of blood onto the dirt. Edward was now gasping for breath as his nails dug into the ground. Pain pulsed out of every nerve in his body. He could faintly hear Roy calling his name and holding him, whispering comforting things in his ear, trying to help him get through this. Even Edward didn't know what was happening until he looked up at the dark sky. His eyes widened at what he saw.

"The full moon," he rasped.

--

Ohoho! Such an evil cliffhanger no? Well. Not really. It's not too bad. Well, it's about one thirty in the morning here, so I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I worked my butt off, so review :D It makes the world go round. And this is probably one of my longer chapters too. Yay. It was about eight pages on Word, so I'd say that's a pretty decent size. Anyways, school is starting soon and my birthday is in less than a day, so I'm pretty excited. About my birthday that is. Not school. Anyways, I'll try and update soon for you guys. Only two more chapters left!

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Twenty-Four – Turning Point


	24. Turning Point

School is a major pain in the ass. Seriously. I am up to my ears in work, practically drowning in the stuff. But I've got myself a job. I'm gonna baby-sit these cute little girls. They're so sweet. Anyways, I'm doing okay I guess. I twisted my ankle while running, so that sucked. I got a lot of stuff dumped on my plate, so the last chapter might be out in a week if I'm quick, which I probably won't be. Ah. Anyways. I adore most of my teachers though. This year is going to be good. At least I hope so. Oh. What am I doing when I should be updating? I'm rotting my brain with Harvest Moon games. Oh yeah! I just saw Snakes on a Plane. Awesome movie. Go see it. Get the soundtrack too. It rocks. 'Specially that first song.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Twenty-Four – Turning Point

--

Roy's onyx eyes shot up to the sky. They widened when he saw the large silver disc that was the moon hanging in the dark sky. A few visible stars twinkled softly. If under other circumstances this could've been a romantic atmosphere, but all Edward and Roy could think about was how vile it was. It had been what they had been dreading all along.

Dark splotches of red stained the dirt as the blonde continued to cough and spit. The younger male was shaking even more now, the tremors growing stronger with each passing moment. Tears mixed with blood and sweat before falling to the ground. Roy's strong arms wrapped around his waist did nothing to help steady Ed. All he could do was grin and bear it, hoping that it would all be over soon.

Fire exploded in his chest and coursed down every nerve, lighting fiery torches that burned from the inside out. More blood came up. It was hard to tell whether it was from his lungs or from his stomach. Edward let out a loud groan as he felt his fangs begin to throb as they lengthened some more. Although it was by only a few millimeters, the pain that accompanied it felt like they had grown, at the very least, five inches.

All Roy could do was continue to hold the blonde and watch the poor boy's face contort in pain. His own facial expression turned to sadness. He felt so useless at the moment. Nothing he did could ease the boy's pain, just look on and hope that everything turned out alright. He gritted his teeth together in frustration when he heard Edward's labored gasps.

He was just so useless…

Edward's breath caught in his throat when he heard his bones creak and groan. His eyes, still glistening with unshed tears, widened. What was happening? He collapsed, only being held up by Roy, who now wore a panicked expression. A cry of agony tore from Edward's throat as jolts of pain wracked his body. He curled up into a ball, wrapping his arms around himself, clutching his arms, body trembling. His sharp nails dug into his skin, piercing the fabric of his clothes, blood seeping out of the small crescent-shaped cuts.

"R-Roy," he gasped, immediately catching the other male's attention. Edward closed his eyes for a moment, trying to block out all the burning. As he opened them, he slowly reached out to the Colonel, fingers curling around the man's wrists in a weak grip. "I-I'm s-so s-sor-" Edward was interrupted by another coughing fit, tears falling to the ground, salt mixing with the crimson and brown. He then tried to speak again, but Roy shushed him.

"Edward, be quiet. Don't waste your energy," Roy whispered, his worried gaze resting on the boy. The blonde tried to protest, but he gave up in the end. He was just so weak.

His vision was swimming in and out of focus. Darkness was also creeping in, the black tendrils slowly eating up the world before him. He winced as a dull throbbing made itself known in his head, though it was really only a mild irritation compared to the rest of the agony he was feeling at the moment, but being held by Roy gave him some reassurance.

Everything was slowly turning into a dull throb and everything was blurring up even more than ever. Finally he felt himself begin to fall, the blood splattered ground was flashing before him. Once. Twice. Darkness. Blissful, painless, quiet darkness.

--

"The military's catching on."

"I know."

"What are we going to do?"

A blanket of silence descended upon the dimly lit room. Shadows danced about and thin slivers of moonlight slipping through the spaces between the velvet curtains.

"We continue with the plan. This is just… a minor interference," Lilith replied as she moved a heavy curtain aside and gaze up at the brilliantly lit sky.

"I see," Raith said, looking away from the moon's pale face, pain contorting his facial features. The full moon was always a reminder of pain to him. Lilith smirked when she saw his expression, lips twisting back cruelly, fangs flashing.

"Still afraid of the moon?" she sneered, eyes flashing with contempt. She snorted, turning away from the other vampire. "You were once in the same position as our little Chibi-chan, no?" She let out a spiteful laugh. "Tell me, did you cry? Cry like _him?_" Raith remained silent, turning away in shame. Lilith cackled again. "You did, didn't you? You're weak. So _weak_."

Her laughter echoed throughout the dark room. It was a cold cruel laugh that tore through Raith's mind. It rang in his ears. He hated this laugh. He hated this Litlith. He hated looking weak in her eyes. He hated feeling this self-disgust.

"But I suppose it can't be helped," Lilith murmured, a smirk playing upon her lips, "After all, I fell in love with you." She laughed again. "Well, I suppose it would be more accurate to say I fell in lust with you. We cannot love can we? We're sins. Abominations. Funny how we still exist. You would've thought that God would've erased every last trace of our existence. We're threats to his perfect creations. We're only his _failures_. Defects. Nothing more." She sighed and let go of the curtain, the thick fabric falling back into place. "Funny thing that the defects are superior to the final version," she whispered as she walked away.

Raith remained silent, not making any move to follow the female. Where she was going did not interest him. He had to prepare, set the final pieces into place, and finish what they had started. The military wouldn't be able to do a thing now.

"Guard the stone." Lilith's voice suddenly pierced his thoughts. "Make sure no one gets to it, especially Chibi-chan. We don't want all our hard work to go to waste." She then left the room, his footsteps slowly fading away.

"The stone," Raith murmured, walking out into the hallway as well. His eyes quickly picked up the faint red glow emitting from the room at the end of the hall. "It would be easier to destroy it," he finished, growling slightly, his mood quickly darkening.

--

Hughes was jolted awake by a sudden knocking at his door. He blinked in confusion, trying to recall where he was. It came to him soon enough. The thick folders he had been using as pillows had helped with the quick recollection. Letting out a small yawn, the Lieutenant Colonel straightened back up and smoothed out his now rumpled uniform.

"Come in," he called out for the thousandth time that day. In the end he had been tempted to just leave the door open. It was unbelievable how many visitors Roy usually got on a daily basis, not to mention all those phone calls, which unsurprisingly, had been from many of the women he dated. Such a ladies man.

The face of Cain Fury peeked in from behind the door and Hughes quickly motioned for him to come closer. Obviously the man had something of importance to tell him and Maes could only hope that it would provide some more substance to determine who the murderers were. The question was constantly eating away at him and he needed some relief.

"What is it, Fury?" he asked, gaze fixed on the shorter male.

"We have some," Cain paused, "interesting information about that second set of bite marks." Hughes nodded, telling him to go on. Fury took in a deep breath. "Turns out there are three killers, not two." Maes' eyebrows went up. "There are two different sets of those larger bite marks. One set has the punctures slightly closer together, only by a few millimeters or so. We suspect that the smaller of the two belongs to a female. It would explain the gap difference."

"So, we're looking for a woman now as well?" Hughes asked before letting out a sigh. His mind was buzzing with questions. Of course, the answers were still well out of his reach.

"We also have another suspect," Fury said quickly, immediately catching the Lieutenant Colonel's attention. Cain looked away, chewing at his lower lip for a moment. What he was about to suggest was unthinkable, but then again, his earlier theory had been the same. "We believe that the Colonel might be one of the killers."

"Impossible," Hughes quickly replied, closing his eyes. "Roy was with me when the larger bite marks first appeared. The poor guy was completely buried in his paperwork, so we stayed here at HQ almost the entire night finishing it off." Well, that quickly ruled out that theory.

"And Hawkeye?" Cain suggested.

"She was attacked by one of those things remember?" Hughes replied, looking off into space. "Besides, the bite marks continued to appear even after she slipped into a coma." His voice became slightly heavier at the mention of Riza current state.

"Well, that rules out two possible candidates," Fury said, letting out a sigh. It seems they were back at square one.

Suddenly the door burst open and in walked Havoc, breathing heavily, cheeks slightly pink. It was as if he'd been running. Hughes' eyebrows went up again. He hadn't expected that sudden intrusion.

"Yes?" Maes said, both him and Cain looking at the flushed Havoc.

"We know where Ed is," Jean said in between breaths. There was a small pause as he finally collected himself. "Roy is with him." Hughes' eyes went wide. If Ed really was the killer, then Roy could be his next victim.

"Oh shit."

--

Roy carefully brushed Edward's blonde hair out of his eyes, which were now closed. The boy had passed out about an hour ago and still hadn't woken up. It was unbelievable how many changes the boy had gone through. His smooth face was now completely devoid of color, pale, almost white, but his lips remained pink, a soft reddish pink. A pair of sharp incisors peeked out from beneath them, the white, almost silver, tips gleaming in the soft light. His dark thick lashes rested peacefully on his cheeks, his eyelids fluttering every so often. Even the blonde's hair color had become glossier, the strands felt like silk as they ran over Roy's gentle fingers. In short, the boy had become an image of perfection, as well as temptation.

"Roy?" the boy whispered softly as he slowly opened his eyes, the golden color now filled with orange and ruby specks. Almost like fire, Roy noticed and couldn't help but smile. Maybe he had rubbed off on the boy after all.

"I'm here," the Colonel replied, gently caressing the other's cheek, marveling at the softness of it, but he couldn't help but notice that Edward no longer radiated as much heat as before. The blood that had once covered the blonde's face had been wiped off soon after he had calmed down; it was the least Roy could do for him.

Edward smiled weakly, clearly feeling the after effects of his transformation. His eyes fluttered closed for a moment, but soon reopened.

"How are you feeling?" the Colonel asked gently, already knowing what kind of answer he'd get.

"Fine," Edward said with a sigh. He bit his lip. "Well, maybe a little tired."

_And hungry._

Looking away from Roy, he tried to stifle the small whimpers threatening to escape his throat. His stomach was doing flip-flops and the gnawing, the longing, the want, had returned. Of course, Edward was one who hid his feelings and Roy figured out the boy's predicament easily enough.

"If you're hungry, you only need to say so," Roy said. Actually, it would probably do Ed some good to get some blood into his system. After all, the Colonel knew that there had been a sudden lack of it in the boy's diet. Edward made a small muffled noise of protest, but Roy quickly shut his up with a look.

"But…" Edward said, but trailed off. He couldn't deny that he was hungry and his brain was cheering that there was some nourishment being offered to the dissatisfied stomach.

"Edward, I can't have you collapsing on me," Roy said, justifying the action even more. So, the blonde really had nothing else to do but give in.

Pushing himself up - Roy's comforting hands kept him from falling backwards – Edward took in a deep breath, all the smells of the forest and night flooding his senses. It would take some getting used to, but he wouldn't need to do that. After all, the stone would help. Edward was praying that it would.

The blonde turned around to face the sitting Colonel and offered another small smile of comfort. He couldn't help but feel guilty for hurting Roy like this. Scooting closer, Edward placed his hands on the other male's shoulders, holding him still just in case he decided to jerk away. That would not be good.

"Just hurry up," Roy said, letting out a sigh. He really wanted to get on the move again. Being this close to the church made him uneasy. Edward nodded and bit down on the exposed flesh of the Colonel's neck. His sharpened fangs swiftly pierced the skin and blood quickly began to flow into his mouth.

For a few moments, all that could be heard were Roy's sharp breaths as he ignored the searing pain in his neck, and the small muffled noises Ed made as he gratefully drank the warm liquid. It took Edward a little bit longer to finish up this time round. Now that he was no longer human, the need for blood was stronger. He couldn't ignore it, but he couldn't very well let Roy die from blood loss, so he pulled away once he felt that he was pushing the limit.

Roy let out a shaky sigh as Edward pulled away, licking his lips. The blonde stared at the raven-haired man for any sign that something had gone wrong. Apart from looking a little pained, Roy seemed to be doing fine and the wound on his neck was already beginning to seal up. Vampire bites were strange things indeed.

"Let's go," Roy murmured as he got to his feet, legs shaking a little bit, but enough to worry Edward.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes," the Colonel replied quickly, "Let's just get the stone and get out of here as soon as possible. This place gives me the creeps."

--

A feeling of dread hovered in the air as the two neared their destination. The church itself was in relatively good condition for it being abandoned for so long. None of the moss covered, blackened bricks had fallen off, the structure slowly crumbling away from its perch on the tall cliff, the tips of the pines below barely reaching the very top of said cliff. Ivy and thorns twisted around the structure, it was definitely the perfect picture of horror. Even the front door creaked eerily as Edward pushed it open.

The blonde shuddered as a sudden chill washed over him as he walked into the main hall. Dust and debris littered the old semi-rotten wood floor. The board groaned in protest as the two males began to explore. There was little of interest on the first floor. A few empty rooms, the main hall, which was filled with termite eaten pews, rusted religious ornaments, and dull washed out paintings, and a few rooms filled with so much clutter that Roy and Ed couldn't be bothered to look through it all, so they made their way up to the second floor.

The second floor had the same results as the first, but the third held promise. Here the dust had been pushed away by footsteps and there was a faint entrancing red light coming from the far end of the hall that made Edward's heart swell with joy. Roy on the other hand, nervously looked around. He couldn't help but feel that they were being watched and the fact that he was the only human around didn't soothe his worries.

He glanced around worriedly, trying his best to make out what he could with his less than adequate 'night vision'. He wished that he could see as well as Edward, who was moving about with no difficulty. Roy on the other hand had made a habit of running into things, chair, tables, lamps, anything that was within his range of walking. It felt as if he were blindly groping around. At least Ed had finally realized that Roy was still human after some time and had taken the other male's hand to help maneuver the Colonel around without damaging too much.

Edward continued to lead Roy towards the red light. It had definitely sparked his curiosity and he saw the Colonel's brow furrowing in confusion. The blonde figured that the other man was trying to figure out what that was. By the time they reached the door to the room, which was slightly ajar, Ed already knew what he would see when he pushed open the door.

The blonde gently nudged the door open and stepped into the room. Tattered faded royal blue curtains hung on either side of the open balcony double door. Moonlight streamed in through it, illuminating the room perfectly. A gentle breeze blew through; ruffling Edward's shirt, but it was pleasant and almost inviting. His eyes eventually fixed on what he had been searching for, a small red stone that could easily fit into the palm of his hand.

_The stone._

Red light mixed with white, creating a soft glow. Edward quickly moved towards the stone. His ticket to humanity, it was almost in his grasp. Roy followed closely behind him. The blonde could feel the excitement radiating from both of them. It was hard to believe. He would be human again soon.

A sudden unnatural gust of air and the slam and click of a locking door, caught Edward's attention, causing him to spin around, ready to strike out at anyone. His eyes narrowed and a low growl escaped his throat when his gaze came to rest upon someone he hoped to never see again.

"Hello Chibi-chan," Lilith said cheerfully, hands resting on her slim hips. "Long time no see." Edward snorted and flipped her the bird. Honestly, he'd had enough of the vampires. This rude one-fingered gesture caused the female vampire to pout. "Aww. That isn't nice," she whined. Edward just rolled his eyes.

"Get lost, bitch," he growled. Edward was not in a good mood at the moment.

"Tut tut. Is that any way to speak to a lady? I think not." The vampire smirked. "Though, I do think I have something of yours that you'd like to have back." She motioned towards the balcony and Edward's gaze dutifully followed.

His eyes widened and a panicked cry escaped his lips when he saw the scene before him. Roy was hanging over the edge of the balcony, feet flailing in the air below. The only thing that kept the older alchemist from plunging to the bottom of the cliff below was the hand wrapped around his neck, a hand that belonged to Raith.

"Let him go," Edward snarled, eyes flashing dangerously, fangs bared. Lilith couldn't help but laugh at this.

"We will," she said, "Well, that is if you agree to our terms." She giggled and walked closer towards Edward before moving towards the balcony.

"What are they?" Edward asked. He knew he wasn't going to like them. The vampire noticed the agitation in his voice and let her smirk grow.

"Oh. It's quite simple, Chibi-chan. All you need to do is swear your loyalty to us and help eradicate every last human on this planet." She sneered as she watched Edward's face contort in disgust. "But we'll let you keep Flamey here as a pet. How does that sound?" Her eyes twinkled maliciously as she let her nails run across Roy's check, opening a long shallow cut. "Such a pretty face."

"Don't touch him," Ed snapped darting forward.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Come any closer and Flamey goes for a little flight," Lilith said, stopping Edward in his tracks.

The blonde glanced over towards Roy, who was furiously shaking his head, eyes wide with fear. Ed couldn't tell whether it was fear that he would agree to those terms, or that he would meet his end at the bottom of the cliff. The teenager bit his lower lip, gnawing on his as he thought. A life without Roy would be no life, but could he give everyone else up for Roy.

_Yes._

Edward shut his eyes, brow furrowing. It was the truth. He could. Roy was more important to him than all those lives. He was such a hypocrite. Before he was all about saving masses of people, but now he was ready to sacrifice them all for Roy. He was such a hypocrite. A dirty lying hypocrite.

"Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Time's running out," Lilith taunted. She began to count down with her fingers. "Three. Two. One. Time's up. We need an answer." Ed gritted his teeth together and before he could stop himself he had blurted out his answer.

"Yes! I agree! Just don't hurt him. Please."

"A wise decision," Lilith murmured and nodded to Raith, who set Roy back down on the balcony. Edward let out a sigh of relief when he saw the other male being set down on solid ground. It was heart-wrenching to watch his love writhing above a certain death.

"Edward!" Roy cried out. "Why! All those people! Just for me? How could-"

He was effectively cut off by Lilith, who delivered a quick forceful push to his chest, which sent the Colonel falling backwards and over the edge of the balcony, towards the trees below, leaving a heartbroken blonde to watch dumbly in shock as his lover spiraled down towards his certain death.

"You said to not hurt him. He'll be dead before he realizes he's in pain."

Then the cruelest of laughs split the horrific silence as Roy Mustang fell towards the ground below.

--

Haaa. That was a long chapter. I'm happy with it though. Hurr. So yes. Another cliffie. Sorry 'bout that. Yosh. I'll try and get the last chapter out as quickly as I can, so just sit tight for me. Myep. I'm going to put my entire heart and soul into the next chapter. I'll work and work and work to make this end with a bang. I hope.

**Next Chapter:**

Chapter Twenty-Five – Caught In-between


	25. Caught InBetween

Mmkay. So, I was really in a writing mood and I said to myself 'why not start working on a new chapter?'. That's why this chapter is out so soon. Wow. I'm getting faster. Well, not really, but you guys get the point. Life is pretty good right now. Me and my friend went to AWA and it was awesome. I gots myself a Roy plush now. It's so cute. Now all I need is an Ed one. So yeah. You guys probably don't care about my life, so I'll get on with the chapter. Wow. It's the final one and it's taken me a year to get this far. I'm so proud of myself. Hee. Well, I'll try not disappoint you guys.

--

**Crimson Sin**

Chapter Twenty-Five – Caught In-between

--

Falling.

Falling.

_Falling._

The wind roared in Roy's ears as he spiraled towards the ground, vision unfocused and semi-obscured by the raven locks that danced wildly in front of his eyes. He felt his breath leave his lungs, making him feel hollow, empty. Whoever said that falling was like flying had dung for brains or flying really sucked.

He closed his eyes as he watched his death rush up to meet him in a bone-crushing embrace. Memories flashed before his eyes. Mostly he saw Edward. The sparkling golden irises, long corn-colored hair, they were imprinted in his mind, scrawled in permanent ink. Then he found himself thinking.

_I'm going to die and I've only kissed Edward once._

It was strange to be thinking that now, but Roy really hadn't had much time to plan what he was going to think now. Plus, he had technically kissed the blonde twice, but right now his brain really didn't care about technicalities. When you were in a freefall without a parachute, your mind really doesn't give a rat's ass about much.

"_Roy…"_

His eyelids fluttered open, the world just a blur of muddled colors. The wind howled and screamed, drowning out his own thoughts. His mind went blank. No use thinking when you had to yell to hear yourself inside your own head. But, he had heard something.

"_Roy."_

There is was again. It was like a mosquito's buzzing, incessant and irritating. His eyes closed again. The human conscious could be so cruel at times: hallucinations, delusions, non-existent voices.

"_Roy!"_

His brow furrowed. The voice was getting louder and louder. Just like a mosquito or a fly, a cruel joke he was pinning on himself.

"Roy!"

The Colonel could almost feel the pine needles digging into his skin. He must be close to the trees by now. It would be a wonder if he didn't impale himself on a branch before hitting the ground.

_Edward?_

He was thinking again.

His eyes opened again, black spots dotting his vision, but there was something strange. A black shape – perhaps just another spot? – was hurtling towards him, blurring into the dark backdrop.

"ROY!"

Suddenly his body jerked to a stop. The little air he had managed to inhale was quickly forced out of him, leaving him gasping and wide-eyed. While he gasped and spluttered, the black dots grew in numbers, leaving him with little mosaic pieces of the full image.

"Roy…"

The voice seemed to crack and Roy felt drops of wetness hit his cheeks and trickle down. Had it suddenly begun to rain? Something strong was holding him up; it was letting the cold seep into his body. Or maybe it was the source of that chill. Roy's gasping finally came to a stop and his vision refocused.

"Ed?" he managed to croak out, his throat suddenly very tight. His gaze traveled a path across the pale skin of Edward's face before turning to look at his would-be-killer, the ground. They were floating about the pines, defying every law of gravity. "We're floating," he said dumbly, still not exactly thinking clearly. His thoughts were still pretty jumbled.

The blonde's lips twisted into a wry smile, tears running down his cheeks, eyes still shining with unshed ones. He sniffed and dried his face with the fabric of his shirt.

"Yeah. We're flying."

Roy blinked once. Then he noticed the wings protruding from Ed's back, right by his shoulder blades. He saw that the blonde's shirt was stained with blood and the cloth was ripped around the wings. The Colonel also noticed that Edward's jaw was tightly clenched in pain, but that was really the only sign.

"Thank you," Roy murmured, letting himself relax. If Ed hadn't saved him then by now he'd be nothing more than a broken heap on the forest floor. The blonde didn't say anything; instead he pressed his cool lips to the older male's forehead.

Flying really was nothing like falling.

Then Roy noticed that Edward was slowly descending towards the ground. He frowned. Shouldn't they be going back up? He then felt himself being gently set down, the grass crunching beneath his feet.

"Stay here," Edward said, silencing any protest from Roy with a chaste kiss. Then the young vampire had darted back up into the air, leaving a stupefied and dazed Flame Alchemist behind.

--

"I had never expected him to jump," Lilith told Raith as she leaned against the balcony, examining her sharp perfectly manicured nails. Her long hair twirled in the night breeze. "All this waiting is becoming so bothersome." She glanced over her shoulder, rolling her eyes at the touching moment the two alchemists were sharing. "Oh gag," she muttered, voice devoid of compassion or understanding.

"You're impatient," Raith replied from the other side of the room. The vampire had decided that he was going to put as much distance between the blonde and himself for the moment. The female vampire rolled her eyes in response. Impatient she may be, but Edward really did like to take his time didn't he?

"That little pipsqueak is the slowest being on this Ear-" Her eyes suddenly grew wide and her sentence was cut short. "Ah," she gasped pitifully, eyes turning down to examine a metal blade - belonging to the one and only Edward Elric of course - sticking out of her chest. Dark blood began to pool from the wound and a small trickle left her mouth, dribbling down her chin.

"Don't call me short."

Lilith's blood-stained lips pulled back into a sadistic smile, her fangs peeking out. A small chuckle left her mouth as he body trembled slightly. Cold steel glinted in the moonlight, rivers of red running down the metal surface.

"You've done your research," she said weakly, her breathing shallow, irises becoming duller. She gave a raspy cough before letting her body fall limp. Slowly, Ed pulled his blade out and the vampire's body landed with a dull thud in a puddle of her own blood. His cold gaze rested upon the still body, wings retracting back into his back. They would only get in the way.

The blonde want panting slightly, bloodied arm hanging by his side. It was a horrible feeling to have someone else's blood on you. It just made Edward feel so unbelievably dirty, despicable. His fiery eyes turned upwards to rest on the stunned vampire frozen on the spot. Raith had not foreseen an event like this. He hadn't even given it the slightest thought.

"You bastard!" he growled as he crouched down into an offensive stance. His teeth were bared and sharp claws ready to rip Edward to shreds. Ed definitely knew how to hit people where it hurt the most.

"Payback," Ed said simply, straightening himself up, lips pressed into a thin line. An air of seriousness surrounded him. His eyes held no trace of emotion, neither did his expression. Everything was so blank. So inhuman. Almost like a robot.

That did it.

Raith snarled as he lunged at Ed, fists raised and prepared to smack the living daylights – nightlights? – out of the blonde. Edward easily evaded him, but hadn't been prepared for the vampire to recover so quickly afterwards. This ended in the small teenager to get thrown against the wall, the plaster cracking even more. Pieces of white fluttered down, a thick layer of dust settling over Edward.

"Too slow," Raith said, still growling his words. It would be an understatement to say that the vampire had a dark expression. It was the blackest of black, revealing nothing but rage and hate. Sins. Feelings of sin.

Edward quickly picked himself up off the floor, narrowly missing another strike from the infuriated vampire. A dark purple bruise was already forming on his jaw. He would surely get more by the end of this fight. As if on cue, Raith's fist connected with Edward's cheek, causing the blonde alchemist to stumble back.

"Shit," Edward cursed as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The taste of blood was fresh in his mouth. That last punch really had done more damage than the boy had initially expected.

He quickly ducked, escaping another punch, then another. He continued to evade the vampire's strikes. In the end, Raith's fists ended up colliding with the walls and air more often than Edward. Pieces of plaster fluttered down each time the white-haired vampire's fists collided with the walls and soon the ground was covered in a thin layer of white. Like snow. Almost.

_I can't keep dodging like this!_ Edward mentally screamed to himself.

He knew that he was slowly becoming tired. His aching limbs weren't doing much to help. He could feel his legs shake, ready to give out beneath him at any moment. If that happened then it might just be the end of him.

_Just keep moving. Keep moving forward._

The words echoed in his mind. He couldn't back. There was nothing to turn back to. All he could do was move forward, towards the future, to the stone. He gritted his teeth as he ducked another strike and sliced upwards with his blade. The sharp bloodied metal bit into the vampire's shoulder, creating a shallow cut. However, it was enough to make Raith hiss in pain and pull away.

_Ha! Take that!_

Ed grinned as he dashed towards the other vampire, weapon at the ready. He barely even noticed how much stronger or faster he was. All his movements were more fluid, graceful, light. They barely took as much effort now.

Raith let out a strangled cry as Edward sliced into his shoulder again, blood gushed out of the wound, running down his pale arm. Clutching the bleeding wound, Raith moved back, trying to put as much distance between himself and Edward. The blonde would have none of that and immediately followed, mimicking the others steps.

Edward lashed out again, creating another cut. Then another, and another. Then a large gash in the abdomen. By now the white residue on the floor had turned red, tainted with Raith's blood. Speaking of the vampire, he was panting, clutching his many wounds, clothes covered in the sticky warm substance, and pressed up against the wall. He was cornered.

"Give up yet?" the blonde asked, a slight sneer in his voice that was alien to him. Raith let out a low growl, eyes flashing in defiance.

"You haven't won just yet," he snapped, "Don't get so cocky." His voice faltered slightly. Raith knew that his chance of getting out of his current situation was small. He sent a kick in Edward's direction, hoping to catch the boy off-guard.

The blow knocked Edward backwards, but he recovered far quicker than Raith could've accounted for. The blonde took a step towards the vampire and his blade embedded itself in the white-haired man's stomach.

Blood flowed out quickly, soaking the already wet fabric of Raith's shirt. Edward grimaced at all the blood. Its scent clung to him, invaded his senses like an infection. Infectious. That was what it was. Edward was too busy trying to clear his muddled thoughts that he didn't notice Ratih's body go limp and slump over, sliding towards the floor after the weapon was removed.

Eyes the color of dying embers quickly turned away from the bloodied body. Tears rolled down his cheeks. He'd just killed someone. His stomach churned, clenching painfully. Edward felt bile rise up in the back of the throat and quickly swallowed it back down, blinking rapidly at the burning sensation that followed. He coughed and pitched forwards, trembling, arms wrapped around himself. They were soon joined by another pair.

"Edward…" said a soft voice that could only belong to one person, the last person Ed wanted to see, Roy.

It was an understatement to say that Edward hated looking weak in front of the Colonel. He hated having to be held up by him.

He.

_Hated_.

It.

"Get away from me!" Edward snapped, pushing the Colonel away. His expression held no traces of the anger in his voice.

"Edward!" Roy snapped back, expression growing serious. The Flame Alchemist's stony gaze rested on the blonde for a moment before Roy turned his head away. "You shouldn't face everything on your own." His voice was tinged with sadness.

"Why did you come back up here?" Edward asked, quickly changing the subject. "You could've gotten hurt."

"So could you."

Silence.

"Are you going to use it?" Roy asked, looking towards the stone, the red jewel that could easily fit in the palm of a small child's hand. Edward's gaze followed suite.

"It's what we've been after."

A pause.

"I'll still love you even if it doesn't work."

"Don't say things like that! It will work!"

"Maybe not in the way you hope."

Edward snorted softly, turning away from Roy and walking towards the small pedestal on which the stone sat, glowing softly, peacefully. The teenager stopped in front of it, reaching out towards the thing he'd been searching for. He hesitated. What if Roy was right? What if it wouldn't work? What if he would be stuck this way forever?

No.

The blonde pushed all those thoughts out of his head and grasped the stone without a second thought. What followed was a blinding light and a loud scream.

--

Breda leaned against the metal wall of the van. He'd been sitting there for over an hour at the very least, along with about fifteen other soldiers the military had managed to cram in there. But that wasn't the worst of it. The worst of it was that Armstrong was sitting right next to him, and due to the major's immense size, the dog-fearing man had been practically squashed to the point that he was flat. Okay. That was an overstatement, but Breda was _very_ uncomfortable.

And Armstrong's incessant talking was also starting to give him a headache.

He sighed and looked away from the muscled man, tuning out the irritating babble. It was just his luck to be out here in the middle of nowhere. Stupid. Now he was being shipped off with pretty much every other soldier to fight this 'supernatural' being. That was a lot of bull in his opinion, but there had been strange things happening lately. Where they were going didn't exactly have a history of being good either.

_Vampires._

That's what all the soldiers were talking about. They hadn't been told much, but there had been talk about them, the blood-sucking creatures. There had also been talk about a certain Edward Elric.

Now, the mere idea of Edward being one of the undead was enough to make anything that Breda was drinking, spurt out of his nose. Well, it was a good thing he hadn't been drinking anything when the major brought the subject up.

"That's a load of bull shit," Breda immediately replied.

"Maybe, but apparently there's a lot of evidence stacked up again Mr. Elric."

Breda raised his eyebrows. Evidence? What could possibly prove the existence of a myth? So strange. Everything was confusing now. All those disappearances back in Central, not to mention the uneasiness. Apparently people had stopped going out after dark now.

It wasn't Armstrong's voice that snapped him out of his thoughts this time. Instead it was a blood-curling scream that sent shivers down everyone's spine. Breda's eyes widened.

"That sounded like-"

The major cut him off.

"We're close."

--

Edward fell to his knees as an all too familiar burning sensation rushed through him. There was an inferno burning him from the inside out. A bright red light surrounded his small trembling form. The teenager's expression contorted in pain, wide eyes fixed on the palm of his hand. The stone was being absorbed into the palm of hand.

_What the hell?_

His mind was screaming at him to just throw the stone into the farthest corners of the room, but it was too late for that. Sparks darted around him, the air crackling as the white hot streaks cut through it. The burning in his palm intensified.

_Make it stop!_

Too late. The stone was gone, completely sucked into his body; all that was left was the inflamed flesh of his right left hand. Edward slowly let himself sink onto the ground, trembling more than ever. His breaths were shallow and pained. The hot air hurt his lungs, which felt empty, no matter how much air he took in. His mouth throbbed and everything else ached now that the burning sensation was dulling.

The red light dimmed and then died out. That was when an exhausted Edward Elric fell to the ground unconscious, leaving Roy to sit by his side and wait for the boy to wake.

--

Ed came to quicker than Roy had expected. The blonde stirred in his sleep for a few moments, but his eyelids quickly fluttered open. He lay there in a daze for a few moments, mind slowly replaying all the events that had just occurred.

Then everything clicked into place.

The now wide-eyed boy shot up into a sitting position, breathing hard, a frightened expression on his face. His hands flew up to his mouth, fingers dancing across his teeth, searching for something.

Something that should not be there.

A cry of anguish tore from his throat as he slammed his fists into the ground, leaving two dents. His anger quickly dissipated into confusion, frustration, desperation. Sobs wracked his body as he sat there, face buried in his hands.

"Why? Why me?"

The bitterness was clear in his voice.

"What are you talking about?" Roy asked, confused. What had made Edward so upset? The stone had worked. Hadn't it? Edward took in a shaky breath.

"The stone! The goddamn stone didn't work!" he snapped back angrily. However, the eldest Elric hadn't meant to throw all his frustration at Roy. It definitely wasn't the Colonel's fault, but Edward couldn't help it. He spun around to face the raven-haired male, lips pulled back to reveal his fangs.

"See!" he said as he pointed to the smaller, but still quite there, canines. Roy's startled expression immediately softened and the older male let out a sigh.

_There's always a catch isn't there?_

A raspy coughing noise caught both Ed's and Roy's attention. The two alchemists quickly turned their heads in the direction of the noise.

"I should've told you before," Raith whispered just loud enough for the two of them to hear. His head hung limply, hair falling in his face, but he was still alive, even just barely. "There's no way to become human again." Another coughing fit followed.

"But that book said-"

Raith cut off the teenager.

"The stone can turn a full-blooded vampire back into a half-vampire, though there are times when even the stone can't do that." The wounded vampire paused for a moment to draw in a few shaky breaths. "Once the vampiric cells are in your system, there's no way to remove them." He let out a weak laugh, but ended up lapsing back into a series of dry coughs. "Being a half-vampire is the closest that you can get to humanity," he said, lifting his head slightly so that the two other males could see the sad smile upon his blood-coated lips.

Edward remained silent as he let everything sink in, gaze falling to rest upon the scuffed floor. All of this time he'd been searching for a lost cause. It was funny actually. Funny in that bitter disgusting way. It wasn't fair!

_Since when had anything been fair? Sure. Getting bitten by a vampire was definitely fair._

This was Edward Elric's personal hell.

"Edward?" Roy said gently, letting his hand rest on the boy's shoulder. The blonde shrugged it off and slowly stood up. Something wasn't right here.

A thick ominous air hung in the air and it sent shivers down Edward's spine. He looked over towards Raith and noticed that the other vampire had stiffened up slightly. Great. So he wasn't the only one who felt uneasy.

The scent of gasoline, gun powder, and sweat tickled his nose, causing him to sneeze. Making a face, Edward took another whiff out of curiosity. Where was this foul odor coming from? He was sure that Raith had noticed it as well.

"We have some unwanted company," the white-haired vampire finally said with a small exasperated sigh.

"The military?" Ed asked. Raith nodded, shifting slightly, still slumped against the wall. He was far too weak to move. Edward really had done a number on him.

"They think you're trying to kill your little friend over there," Raith said, jerking his head weakly in Roy's direction. "Plus you're wanted for all those murders back in Central." He sighed, ignoring the bristling Edward. "You've also managed to put _him_ in danger." By 'him' the vampire meant Roy of course.

"Shit," the blonde growled, massaging his temples. This was all just too complicated. All he had done was drag Roy down with him. He couldn't let Roy suffer for his actions, so that left only two options. He could run away from the military and let Mustang come up with a cover story, or he could shoulder the blame himself and Roy would most certainly be safe. The former was rather iffy, so that left Edward with the latter option.

"What are you thinking, Edward?" Roy asked, his voice hinted with worry. Okay, there was plenty to worry about at the moment thanks to the military's sudden intervention. "Edward!" The worry in Roy's voice was showing through more and more.

_Roy, I'm sorry for bringing you into this mess. _

Edward sighed and turned to face Roy.

_I'll try to fix it._

"Roy, I'm going to turn myself in to the military," he said calmly.

"What?" Roy asked, his eyes wide with surprise. Then the protests came. "No. I won't allow that. You don't deserve the blame for anything that happened!"

"No. Maybe not, but you most certainly do not. That's why I need to turn myself in. It's to protect you. If the military finds out that you helped me, then you'll be thrown into jail." Edward bit his lip. "I don't want you to have to waste away in jail. I have more time than you, so I want you to make the most of yours."

Roy opened his mouth to speak, but Ed quickly shushed him. The boy had already made up his mind and thanks to his mule-like stubbornness, he wasn't going to be rethinking his decision at all.

A loud screeching sound cut through the air, presumably the brakes of the military vehicles. Shouts and the thumping of feet soon followed. There were a few loud clicks of previously forgotten guns being loaded. Edward let out a sigh.

"Guess it's time to put on the show," he muttered, glancing over to Raith, who was now completely still. It was hard to tell whether the vampire was merely resting or dead.

--

The door, which was slightly ajar, suddenly flew off its hinges and in stormed the military's forces just in time to see Roy snap his fingers and let loose a flurry of flames towards Edward. Of course the blond dodged them all too easily.

Scorch marks now marred the walls as well, giving the impression that this battle had been going on for a while now. Edward smirked when he saw the looks on the soldiers' faces. They had completely bought it. However, his smirk fell slightly when he saw the look on Roy's face. He ignored the sadness written on it and pressed onwards.

He was just about to close the last bit of the gap between himself and the Colonel when he was suddenly thrown back into the air. The blonde landed in a dazed heap on the ground, head cracking painfully against the stone wall. He opened his eyes, wincing at the pounding in his head.

The world spun slightly and things were coming in and out of focus, but Edward managed to make out the large form of Major Armstrong standing a few meters away from him, the floor completely destroyed from the major's alchemy. He heard Armstrong's booming voice, but could barely make out what he was saying thanks to an unpleasant ringing in his ears.

He let out a groan of pain, wincing as he slowly tried to push himself up off the ground, legs shaking slightly beneath him. His body was completely spent. All the changes had really worn him out and he was ready to topple over.

Edward had just about collected himself when he felt himself being yanked upwards and his arms being pinned behind his back. Cold metal bit into his flesh wrist uncomfortably. He looked around dazed.

"_We have the situation under control Colonel Mustang, sir!"_

Muddled words filled the blurry room. Edward found it hard to keep his balance as he felt a thin, sharp something sink into his shoulder. Then everything became even more distorted. Colors blended and forms twisted. Words were nothing more than jumbled up garble.

"_That stuff should do the trick."_

His body teetered forwards, but gruff hands kept him in place. He blinked stupidly as a strange numbing sensation spread from his shoulder towards the rest of his body.

"_He'll be out like a light in a matter of seconds."_

He tried to form words, but found that his body wasn't responding to any of his orders. Strange. Trying to pull away from whoever was holding him in place, Edward frantically tried to push away the darkness that was slowly creeping in on the borders of his vision.

"_Edward Elric, you are under arrest."_

Then Edward fell unconscious as the drug finally finished taking affect.

_Be safe, Roy._

--

Roy Mustang had endured many horrible things in his life, the war in Ishbal, massacres of the innocent, and the cruel brutal force the military used. However, nothing had hurt him the most than when he saw the person he loved being dragged away by the military he served and then being praised for helping in the capture.

This was the second time he had been a hero for something he had never wanted any part in. How ironic.

_Edward. I'm so sorry._

The Colonel barely paid attention to the world around him and let everything become a blur of colors and shapes. He let himself be taken away by the soldiers and towards a 'safe place'. Then, finally when he was all alone, it began to rain.

--

**End.**

--

Wow. This really ended up getting long. About eleven pages or so on Word. Well, I have to say I did a pretty good job even though I had a massive writer's block towards the end. Anyways, the ending just does scream sequel doesn't it? Yeah. There's going to be a continuation, but said continuation will be much darker. I'm not kidding when I say that. It's rating will probably be 'M' just for safety measures. I expect it to be out around the end of October. It depends on how much free time I have left.

Anyways, I'm also in the process of writing a lighter, more comedic, and fluffy FMA fic. It's RoyEd of course. I've recently just become infatuated with this pairing. It's hard not to. But yes, that will probably come about when I get off my lazy rear.

In any case, don't kill me if you hated the ending. –hides under a rock–. Yeah. It's a little cliché I suppose, and a bit predictable. Hurr. Ah well. I shouldn't beat myself up over it 'cause I'm proud of it. I never expected my first fanfiction to be this much of a success. I'd just like to thank all of you, who kindly reviewed and faved this. I'm not worthy, but keep on doing it 'cause it makes me happy and feel fuzzy inside. I really love you guys. I really really do.

So yeah, until next time guys. I still cannot believe that this is now over after a year. Wow. By the time I finish the sequel I'll be twenty probably. Ha. I kid. I'll probably just be sixteen or so. The days just go by so fast.


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